Harcesis
by Semaphora
Summary: Ichigo knows something's wrong. After a fight with Kish, which almost ends her life, her alien foe seems to be out of character as of late. And when Ryou reveals a new archaeological find, everything deteriorates. REVISION IN PROGRESS.
1. Abnormality

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew.

**Note:** I realise this looks obscenely long, but bear with me guys. It was in my understanding that people usually like long chapters, ne?

Lyrics by _Cold_.

* * *

Chapter o1: Abnormality

_In a violent world,  
Where deception's free  
Things I can't control,  
Taking over me_

Ichigo slowly stirred from her prolonged sleep. Yawning, she stretched, much like the animal she was merged with. The only thing that invaded the fifteen-year-olds mind was how much she'd _loooooove_ a back scratch. She purred for a brief instant, mesmerized by the memory of Aoyama-kun's hairdryer whipping across her body as a cat.

The auburn-haired cat-girl actually let out a lazy 'meow' before averting her gaze from her disordered pink bed sheets towards her alarm clock. She had to find out the time to figure how long until she had to go to…

'Shit!' She squealed, and scrambled to her feet. The next few minutes were spent running around ad infinitum, trying to remember the location of her closet.

Ichigo Momomiya wasn't the brightest when it came to getting out of bed. In fact, she would have to be one of the worse. She was currently slumped over in the middle of her bathroom, almost sobbing. 'Thirty minutes late! That's a half an hour! Shirogane's going to kill me!' She cried.

Masha, the pink furry little robot, decided to grace the sobbing teenager with its presence right then, 'Kill you! Kill you!' The puffball repeated gleefully in its small, kawaii voice. Ichigo paused for a second, and then cried harder at the robot's innocence.

It took Ichigo another five minutes to realise that sitting about and crying wasn't going to solve anything. She stood shakily and managed to get dressed in twelve minutes, with the support of her IPod Shuffle belting out Three Doors Down.

She sighed as she slipped her feet into a pair of old vans and raced down the stairs. Ichigo yelled out to her mother, 'I'm going now mom!'

Then she slammed the door shut, drowning out the reply of 'But don't you want breakfast first? Ichigo?' By the time her mother had finished her sentence, Ichigo was halfway down the alleyway that branched onto the main road from her house.

After running for around about ten minutes, the burdened girl eased down to a slow trot. Her depression hung around her figure like a thick fog, disabling her sense to see.

She withdrew her cell-phone from her pocket and pressed a few random buttons. These buttons, complementing each other, created the sequence to bring up the current time on the small, compact screen.

Ichigo sighed again. Now she was almost an hour late. Shirogane was going to kill her then, when she came back as a ghost to haunt him, exorcize her soul.

_Work sucks_, she decided mentally, _I wish I was with Aoyama-kun… yeah… on a date… at the markets… and he'd find this awesome little flower shop and buy me this darling red rose and say '__Aishiteru, Ichigo…' ahh…_

'Hmm,' the cat-girl was far too lost in her thoughts to notice the familiar, green-haired alien follow behind her. Careful not to rouse her from her musings, he slowed into an easy walk, just as she had, on the thick grey concrete footpath.

He was a meter behind her, no less or she would hear him. Her senses had improved since being merged with the Iriomote Wildcat.

He knew this well, as it almost made her as sensitive to movement as he was. But, of course, being the lower species, she was not as strongly skilled as he.

Yellow eyes glittered with lust as he watched her walk so carefree, unsuspicious to the danger that was gathering behind her. Just as he was wondering how long it would take before she snapped out of her daydreaming, Ichigo stopped.

He was so surprised he almost collided into her back. That, of course, would do no justice to either the alien or his prey.

For a moment, he was convinced she knew of his presence, and that was why she had stopped. But a second later, the brunette released a loud, elongated yawn, stretching her arms out afterwards, and then began walking again.

That was indeed strange. She should have noticed him by now.

In all actuality, Ichigo was oblivious to Kisshu's presence simply because she had not been bothered taking her headphones out of her ears. The IPod was still on, performing Nickelback's new hit, "Far Away."

_Wow…_ Ichigo thought happily, _this song is sort of a theme song for Aoyama-kun and me…_

'I love you,' She sung, her voice wasn't as bad as some of the people who were making records these days, but it was not perfect, either. 'I loved you all along, and I forgive you, for being away for far too long.'

Once Ichigo had begun walking again, so had Kisshu. He was still a meter away from her but when she suddenly slowed again, he had neared closer by accident. For a moment, there was silence as had been for the last few minutes he had spent tailing her. Then, she began to sing. Her sweet voice filled his senses.

When he heard the words to the song, he froze. _Was she talking about me? Did she know I was here?_ These were the thoughts that revolved around in the alien's mind from the moment he heard her say, 'I love you.'

She knew he was there, so why wasn't she turning around already? (He still hadn't found the headphones) Or, at least, scolding him as she so frequently did? This was unusual behavior for his Kitten to display, so he decided to make his presence known.

It took him mere nanoseconds to secure a tight grip around the girl's waist. It took another three seconds of her blinking dumbly for her brain to register, _oh; I'm not moving anymore_, then, on instinct, attempt to spin around to see who her captor was.

He released her and, just as he suspected, she spun around quickly. On seeing his face, she let out a high-pitched squeal and backed away. A second later, her stunning (well, in Kish's point of view) features twisted into an angry glare directed straight at him.

'Kisshu!' She huffed angrily. A hardly manicured hand was stuffed into her pocket as Ichigo withdrew her IPod Shuffle. She pressed the big, white button in the middle of the stick, and then stuffed the small device, as well as the headphones, into her pocket.

When she looked up, she realised that her otherworldly enemy was gazing at her pocket in curiosity. 'What was that?' He asked, inquisitively.

She scowled at him, 'None of your business.' Then, in rage, she turned on her heel and restarted her trek to Café Mew Mew, leaving the poor, confused alien boy to eat her dust.

Being the delinquent he was, Kisshu followed his Kitten on her path of madness. Every ten seconds she would look over her shoulder and, when she saw him still following her, decide to ignore his presence and walk a little bit faster.

Before Ichigo knew it, she was sprinting to get away from her tormenting alien nemesis.

Yet Ichigo, being a human and relatively flawed, could not sustain this level of fitness no matter how fit her cat genes made her. Kisshu, however, could run after her all day. And, to be frank, he was perfectly content to do just that.

'Come on, Koneko-chan! Don't do this!' He began, grinning sadistically at the reproaching back of his beloved. 'You know you love me. You said so earlier!'

Realizing her mistake of blurting out song lyrics where alien enemies could arise, Ichigo spun around, furious, and screeched out, 'I was quoting a song, you dickhead!'

Unfortunately, Kisshu, not expecting this sort of reaction, was still walking at a quite a brisk pace. Ichigo stopping so sudden, before the visual imprint of her unmoving figure reached the brain of the teenage extraterrestrial, caused Kish to catapult straight into her, sending both of them to fall to the ground, hard.

Ichigo glared at him harshly. 'You did that on purpose, baka!'

But that was before she noticed their position.

'AHHHH!' She screamed, trying with all her might to get him off her, 'Get the hell off me you fat lug!' Kish was just laughing at her, until he noticed this new insult.

'Fat lug?' He repeated, obviously amused. 'Where'd you get THAT one from?' He chuckled to himself, smirking down at her. 'Ahh, Ichigo, you crack me up.'

The confused and sexually frustrated (although she would never admit it) strawberry grimaced up at the being who held her captive between his legs. The poor girl happened to be in an excruciatingly troubling situation. Part of her just wanted to pounce on him and kick him senseless, preferably into unconsciousness, but another part – a much LARGER part, might she add – wanted to _kiss_ him senseless.

Having never felt this way about the handsome space invader before, Ichigo was completely bewildered. What had caused that change of heart? For some reason, the position she currently occupied was becoming more and more satisfying to her.

_Arrg_, she mentally screamed in frustration, _what the hell is WRONG with me? This is Kisshu for god sakes! He's an alien! He has GREEN hair, YELLOW eyes and POINTY DAMN EARS!_

So why? Why did she find him so attractive?

_Okay_, she almost started to choke, completely taken aback by her train of thought, _where the HELL did that come from! Kish? Attractive? Since when? Nya… this is so unfair._

'Hello? Earth to Ichigo?' Ichigo blinked up at him. Kisshu still had her in his grasp. He had fallen on top of her when they collided with the side of the footpath and, when she tried to get up; he had shifted his weight and sat up himself, which caused the following position.

In other words, he was straddling her. Ichigo's waist was caught in between his legs and his hands were holding her wrists in a grip that would give a vice a run for its money.

The girl didn't dare move. She knew that if she did, it would just further the awkwardness of this situation. It didn't, however, look like Kish was going to let go of her anytime soon.

He looked down upon her, head cocked slightly to the side. Since he was leaning over her, the small bundles of hair on each side of his face, tied up with red hair bands, were hanging down past his face. The ends of the ponytails were brushing upon her cheeks in a soft, sweet caress.

_So much… So much like Aoyama-kun…_ She thought blissfully. Then her eyes, which were softly drawing to a close in pleasure, snapped back open. She remembered whom her loyalties lied with, and the person on top of her was definitely NOT him.

'G-get off you pervert!' The rage was back. She instantly forgot about the feel of his soft emerald hair on her face and was only content in thinking about how nice it would be to pound his face into the ground below her.

'I'm not a pervert, I was just showing my affections,' he struggled to keep her hands down. Ichigo was once again immobilized. Or so he thought.

Apparently, he had forgotten about a special type of attack known to humans simply as the "head-butt." When Ichigo preformed one on him, however, all the information from his _Alien Species_ class from back on his planet came crashing back into his brain, as well as a dull, sore throb in the cranium.

'Ouuuuch,' whilst moaning in pain, Kisshu forgot to keep his grip on her arms, of which Ichigo immediately took advantage of the situation with. The tables were turned.

With a quick, fluent movement, Ichigo had reversed the situation. Now _she_ was straddling _him_. Only she wasn't going to be so nice about it…

She raised her hand up, forming a fist, and was about to bring it back down, creating a blow to the side of his head, when one of his arms managed to break free of the grip she had (instead of gripping his hands with her own, she had caught them at his sides, thus she was not only sitting on his waist, but his hands as well), and snake around the wrist of her attacking hand.

Ichigo looked down and was surprised to see that, instead of the usual mirth in Kisshu's golden eyes, they were completely composed of emotionless depths. The cold look he gave her disturbed her long enough for her hand to falter before she noticed it had happened.

'That's not a good idea, Kitten.' His voice, like his eyes, was devoid of any emotion whatsoever. And, although she wouldn't admit it, it scared her.

Then, the grip he had on her wrist, despite the fact that she was no longer going to strike him, hardened. It was so tight that it hurt. The cat-girl grunted in pain. This was very much unlike the Kisshu she knew.

But…did she really know him?

She had no more time to think about it. With a fast, coordinated movement, Kish had swept her clean from her position on top of him. Having been so close to the ground beforehand, the fall onto her back didn't faze Ichigo as much as it would have had she been standing.

Nonetheless, she was shocked. Before she could regain herself, however, she saw the silhouette of her foe on the concrete next to her. She looked up. He towered over her.

Now the fear was shown on her face. Kisshu smirked evilly down at her, 'You know, Kitten, I like it when you're angry.' He took another step towards her, for some reason, she couldn't summon the power she needed to stand up. She was rooted to the spot. Unable to move.

He finished his sentence, 'But when you're frightened, you're just too irresistible.' As he was saying this, something caught her eye. Something that shone – bright, metallic and silver. Ichigo averted her gaze from his face down to his hands.

And then she saw it.

In his hand, it's blade glistening in the sun, was one of his Dragon Swords. Ichigo stared at it in horror. That very blade would carry out her death sentence.

If only she could _move_. Her life was in danger, and yet she was still on the ground. It was as if she didn't have control over her own body. But she knew that the concept of that was completely erratic.

Then again… aliens? Mew Mews? All of it seemed erratic. Yet it was true. Actually, it was her reality. She was a Mew, fighting against the aliens.

_She was a mew._

Which meant if she died right now… if she _failed_ to stop the being before her from unleashing his terror… her world, her home, her family and her friends would all be destroyed.

Ichigo knew there was no way she could let that happen.

'Never.' This was the only word that passed through her lips before the next event occurred.

It happened all too fast for one to comprehend. At the exact same moment, after uttering that single word, Ichigo leapt for her Mew Pendant just as Kisshu lunged, with the Dragon Swords, to deliver the final blow.

'Mew Mew Strawberry! Metamorphose!' A blinding flash of pink light and some groovy Jpop music later, Ichigo Momomiya had transformed into the super-lady and Tokyo Mew Mew leader, Mew Ichigo. The bubble-gum haired heroine stood defiantly before her enemy.

'For earth's future, I am of service nya!' She said the cute catch phrase immediately after transforming. It had become a habit Mew Ichigo could not let go of.

After blurting out her familiar saying, Mew Ichigo ducked the incoming attack from her opponent. Kisshu spun back around in nanoseconds and was ready to strike again.

This time, when he came for her, Mew Ichigo didn't duck. She leapt straight over him, flying through the air, backwards, in a reverse somersault. She landed perfectly on her feet, knees bent to prevent injury.

A small smile crossed her lips. In her transformed state, Ichigo forgot all about the fear that had gripped her when Kisshu came after her like that. She was high on adrenaline and ready to fight with all she had in her.

* * *

Keiichiro Akasaka frowned at the computer screen. There was a map, a Birdseye view of the Kanto Region in general. On the map were six blinking dots, all of a different colour.

One was pink, another blue, green, yellow, purple and grey. These dots represented each member of the Mew Mew team, as well as his partner, Ryou. Basically anyone who had been transfused with animal DNA.

He used the marker in each girl (and Ryou's) body as a sort of tracking device. When any of the five girls and/or Ryou were in trouble or had transformed, the concentration of power in their bodies (the marker's strength) would rise. Thus, Keiichiro could track their movements and transformations and let the other Mew's know when one was in danger.

At this time, however, Keiichiro's gaze was fixated on only one of these six blinking dots. It was the pink one.

The telltale colors of their uniforms corresponded with the colour of the dots. Aizawa, Mint, infused with the Ultramarine Blue Lorikeet, was the blue dot. She was currently located in the Café, sitting at the table (no doubt enjoying her afternoon tea break). Her marker blinked a faded blue. She was still in normal form.

The Green dot represented Lettuce Midorikawa, the beautifully shy Finless Porpoise. She, like Mint, was also in normal form. The same was with the yellow and purple dots. Purin Fong and Fujiwara Zakuro, as the energetic, hyperactive Golden Lion Tamarin and the misunderstood, silently cold Grey Wolf, were also in human form. All three of these Mew's were situated in the Café, but on the move, traveling from the diner out to the table areas.

Ryou, of course, was in the kitchen. His marker, the grey one, was also emitting only a faded energy signal. He had not transformed into Alto, the small grey cat of which he could only stay for ten minutes otherwise an eternity.

But the pink dot: signifying the leader of the Mew's, who was currently situated somewhere along the road leading to the vibrant, violently pink Café, Ichigo Momomiya.

Her dot was shining brighter than the others. It was blinking, as well. Which meant that she had transformed into Mew Ichigo, her magical girl form.

Keiichiro's face molded into an uneasy grimace. He focused on typing a new command into the computer. Removing all the programming code, all he simply wrote was **Search: Aliens**.

The results on the map were not much. Only one, new blinking dot. This dot was red. If there were a key for each dot, the red dot would signify…

Danger.

Keiichiro didn't hesitate for one second after that. The red dot had been his confirmation.

The leader of the Mew Mew's was in trouble.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ichigo's fight with Kisshu had not been going very well. In fact, she was loosing hope of even getting out of this one alive.

Kish wasn't fighting as he normally did. Normally he would only try to wound her, or release a chimera anima to find the precious substance Mew Aqua.

This time, however, he was fighting to kill.

And he was good at it, too – if it wasn't for the animal instincts within her and the combined power of girl and cat, Ichigo would have been killed if not once, but twice in the deadly fight.

Personally, Mew Ichigo was lucky that her adversary did not take the fight to air. If he did, all hope would certainly be lost. Ichigo, even in her Mew state, could not fly, despite contrary belief. She could only jump.

Mew Minto happened to be the only Mew that could, in fact, stay in the air, as she was merged with the Ultramarine Blue Lorikeet, thus gaining wings in her transformation.

But none of the other Mew's knew where she was, nor that she was transformed and fighting.

If she didn't get away soon, she was finished.

Kisshu came down with his left hand, Dragon Sword and all, to deliver a swipe at her face. She weaved out of the way; quickly stepping backwards and jolting her head back further, so she was balancing herself.

The knife didn't miss. It brushed across her cheek, fast and hard. Mew Ichigo cried out in pain as a hairline slit of blood appeared on her right cheek. She was just about to bring up a hand to check the depth of the wound, when, on reflex, her hand struck out to defend herself.

It was no use. After drawing back, her rival had ditched the idea of using the swords (albeit they were still in his hands) and crash-tackle her over.

Both Mew Mew and Alien flew over the bars separating the footpath with the creek-bed beneath them. Unknowingly, whilst in battle, they had moved several meters back, thus fighting on top of the bridge directly over the creek.

Incredibly lucky that, due to vicious rains that had attacked the region a few days before, the creek was fairly full of rainwater. So instead of colliding with the concrete ground and almost certainly be killed, she fell, with a large SPLASH into the murky waters.

She had no time to contemplate how dirty the creek water was, she stood immediately, and raced into the park area near the creek. Her alien adversary followed, gritting his teeth in determination and not stopping once to register the look on is opponents face.

Mew Ichigo was scared. It took a lot for her Mew form to show any type of fear, but she was. Usually Kish had gotten the message and bought out something she could defeat with her Strawberry Bell.

_Strawberry bell…_

A plan formulated itself in the cat-girls mind.

* * *

Lettuce was worried.

Not only had the observant girl noticed that Ichigo was not present that day at the Café (even though the cake shop wasn't open, they were just cleaning for another week of production), but that soon after her usual deadline of late passed, Akasaka-san had raced up the basement stairs, intent on talking to Shirogane-san straight away.

_Maybe it was nothing,_ she attempted to reassure herself, _or maybe they've just got a glitch in the computer or something…_

The thought of the computers malfunctioning wasn't the least bit assuring to Lettuce, she realised after a moment of deep musing. Shirogane- and Akasaka-san's ability to track the enemy was heavily relied on during battles.

Nonetheless, Lettuce was worried about her ditzy friend.

She sighed. There was no use sulking about it, though. Lettuce moved slowly from the diner area into the hallway leading to the storeroom. She was going to sweep the floors next, she decided, and carried out the steps to do so.

However, as she was walking through the threshold of the small room, after walking down the steps that lead off to the basement and the stockroom she overheard voices.

It was Shirogane- and Akasaka-san! Their voices were quite clear from Lettuce's hiding place within the storeroom. The Finless Porpoise ducked her head down low and, whilst searching for a broom worthy of her task, she eavesdropped on the conversation.

Lettuce wasn't someone who would usually do such a thing, and she tried hard not to. But when she heard the words, 'The Alien's are after Ichigo,' her worst fear was confirmed. Ichigo, Tokyo Mew Mew leader and one of her few true friends, was in trouble.

Trying not to let the fear completely consume her, Lettuce found what she was looking for and left the storeroom.

Unfortunately, this happened exactly when Shirogane was leaving the basement, presumably to tell the Mew's of the threat against their leader.

Lettuce was halfway up the hall when she heard someone utter her name. Immediately, she spun. Ryou Shirogane, in all his blonde-haired glory, stood, arms crossed, staring at her. His face was a mask of seriousness.

Thinking that he caught her eavesdropping, Lettuce squeezed her eyes shut behind her thin lenses and bowed to the older teen. Shirogane cocked an eyebrow at this action, staring at the poor girl try to explain herself.

'Gomenasai, Shirogane-san! I didn't mean to overhear your conversation with Akasaka-san, but when I heard about Ichigo-san, I couldn't help myself!' Lettuce prayed that he didn't scold her. She was surprised, however, when she heard a distinct noise.

Shirogane chuckled to himself. _Poor girl_, he thought, smiling, _she's so sensitive_.

This was one of the things he thought made her different to the rest of the Mew's.

_Quite, shy little Lettuce, how could you not adore her? _That caught him off-guard. Had he really just thought that?

_Well, I guess I am a little nicer to her than I am to, say, the baka strawberry, but that's because she doesn't slack off as much, or arrive late, or screams at me…_

Ryou sighed. This was too much. First, Ichigo was missing. Now he was contemplating his feelings for Lettuce? He had to inform the other girls of Ichigo's dilemma before the enemy hunted her down!

He had no time for this. So he ended the conversation, as well as his train of thought, 'I was just coming up to tell you and the other girls, Ichigo is missing, presumably fighting against a Chimera Anima, we need you to find her right away and eliminate the threat.'

Lettuce nodded, apology forgotten. Determination filled the young girl to the brink of which she was ready to do anything for her friend.

'I'll go tell them.'

Without further ado, the jade-haired bookworm ran straight up the basement stairs and up to her remaining friends to tell them of the danger that would soon engulf them all.

Shirogane just watched in amazement. _I hope your watching over them, Dad, because if I'm right, their going to need all the help they can get._

He turned on his heel and walked back into the laboratory, prepared to monitor the upcoming battle through Masha, who had zoomed after Lettuce once flying over to the Café.

* * *

Mew Ichigo bit her lip. This was going to be a close one.

She had still not completely formed all the necessary elements for her plan to take place. But hopefully the result would cause a decoy long enough for her to get away.

The strawberry-haired heroine ran as fast as her legs would bear, darting in between trees in as a blur of pink.

She cursed her bright-colored clothes. They were of absolutely no use to her now, except shielding her body from the random bits of bark and leaves that were falling from the treetops.

Ichigo was never really keen on the idea of running away. But the possibilities of her wining this fight were quite low. She frowned inwardly, thinking of Kisshu's odd behavior.

_What was with him? Was it something to do with Deep Blue? Or is he just showing me the reality of his personality?_

Ichigo shook her head in disbelief. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't! Kisshu couldn't really be like this. She had seen him express himself before, he seemed so passionate, so devoted to his task… but never this determined. She was so confused.

_It doesn't matter now_, a small voice in her head murmured to her as she tried to keep her mind on her task, _all you need to do now is survive, you can think about all this later…_

'I'm coming for you, Koneko-chan!' A voice yelled from the treetops above her. Dread eloped her entire being. No. She couldn't let him. Not yet… It was too soon.

She willed her legs to go faster, they complied, but only barely. She was at her limit right then. If she didn't get there soon she just might burn out.

Finally, after an eternity, she reached a clearing. Resting against the trunk of a large tree, she hoped desperately that she could buy herself some time.

Kisshu scanned the ground below him. After his toy had disappeared within the forest, he took flight above, watching his rosy-haired rival maneuver her way around the trees, trying hard to loose him.

Resistance was futile… hadn't she realise this by now?

Obviously not. After running into a clearing amongst the dense woodland, she had hidden behind an old oak tree. He didn't hesitate, just called upon his Dragon Swords once more.

Round two began.

Kisshu dived in towards his unsuspecting enemy. Mew Ichigo's cat senses tingled within the pit of her stomach. He was approaching – fast.

She ditched her spot behind the tree and, with one quick motion, called upon her Strawberry Bell. She didn't have time to create the decoy she was hoping for; it was blow-trading time once more.

_Please… Mew Mew's… Shirogane… anyone…_ She prayed that someone heard her silent plea. But no go. She knew that wishing wouldn't help her now.

Mew Ichigo sidestepped Kisshu's lunge forward and twisted herself around just in time to deliver a quite hard wheel kick to his ribs. The alien fell back, faltered for a second, Ichigo held up her Strawberry Bell, ready to strike.

'Ribbon Strawberry Su-' She was cut off when suddenly, one of Kisshu's weapons flew through the air. She moved her hand just in time to stop it from plunging into her flesh. Instead, it hit her Bell.

The Strawberry Bell flew out of her hands. It landed with a soft THUMP, about a meter away from her current location. The sword was embedded in the trunk of a tree only a few feet behind the distressed kitten.

Instead of charging at her again, Kish took a simple step forward. Not taking any chances with her newfound experience with this alien. Ichigo took a step back. She drew in a breath.

Finally, the heroine found the nerve to speak. Actually, to scream. 'Why? Why are you doing this?' She yelled, taking another step back when he took another forward.

'You are in our way.' Kisshu responded to her call, coldly. 'I must destroy you.'

On saying the word _you_, Kish pointed to her with one of the long blades of his Dragon Swords. The other, of course, was situated in the tree behind her.

The ground then shook beneath her. Ichigo gasped, averting her gaze from Kisshu's face to the earth. It was getting more and more violent. She looked up again.

The alien seemed indifferent to this uncommon occurrence. Confusion overtook her senses for a brief moment, then alarm once more, and finally… realization.

It wasn't the world around her that was shaking. It was _her_ who was shaking. It was as if she was having a seizure.

Her body arched in, pain consuming all her senses. She forgot about Kish; the fight, and was only focused on screaming at this torture that stretched up past her bowels and into her chest.

No way… she wasn't having – _a heart attack?_

The pain stopped as soon as it started. She gasped, warmth flooded down her cheeks as her mind registered that she had been crying from the pain. Mew Ichigo crumpled in relief.

She looked up, at her enemy, only to see he was staring back at her. His golden eyes were wide with shock. Kish just stood, unmoving.

'Huh?' She uttered, confused, gasping and shocked beyond belief. _One minute he's trying to kiss me… then kill me… then – nothing._

Ichigo just watched Kisshu. His gaze averted from her face, to something in his hand. It was like his Dragon Sword, only longer. On the end of it was a small, semi-rectangular fork. It had two, evil-looking prongs sticking out of it and was silver, like the blade of his daggers.

His eyes, if possible, grew twice the size of which they were.

'No… No way.' He pressed the small, green oval on his dragon sword. Ichigo had once believed that it was only there as decoration. She was proved wrong in the next second.

Kisshu bought the hybrid stick up to his face, at least a foot away. He pressed down on the oval harder, his knuckles turning white. Ichigo blinked lazily, _what was he doing?_

Suddenly, the two prongs turned a deep emerald, then, in between the two, was a spark. It only shone for a second before –

CRACK!

The hilt of the sword suddenly exploded in an off-white, slightly yellow light. Electrical currents ran up the sword, towards the prongs and when they hit: BAM!

There was another heinous crack. Ichigo almost covered her cat ears from her place on the floor, where she had fallen after her seizure. The prongs of Kisshu's sword sparked with electricity. She could see the forks of yellow build up between the two.

It all made sense. She didn't have a heart attack or a seizure. She had been electrocuted.

By Kisshu and his pronged sword.

She glanced up at him, taken aback. _He_ had electrocuted her. He had caused so much pain towards her when he had once promised to never harm her. That he would take her away and they would live happily.

Not that she believed any of that. Well, if she had (even just a tiny smidgen) she certainly didn't now.

The rage that filled her, after realizing he was responsible, died almost immediately on seeing his face. Complete and utter shock, was all she could describe it as.

Kisshu was shaking his head. Back and forth repeatedly, after staring at the electrical light his Dragon Sword produced. It wasn't possible. He didn't believe it.

He _wouldn't_ believe it. _Couldn't_.

Yet it was there.

In disgust, he released his fingers from the button on the sword. Then he stepped forward, towards the cowering Ichigo.

The cat girl looked up, eyes red, face horrified. Kisshu glanced down, at the sword, and then dropped it. He took another step closer. Ichigo cringed, shutting one eye when she saw him approaching.

'Minton Alo!' A scream came from above the trees. Ichigo and Kisshu immediately looked up.

Ichigo cried in relief and surprise, 'Mew Minto!'

Minto smiled slightly at her companion. She turned away from the team leader, however, when she grasped her Bow and Arrow in her hands. Her face was deadpan when she screamed, 'Ribbon Minto Ekko!'

A bright blue beam, shaped as an arrowhead, came flying out of her weapon. She fired at Kisshu; however, the attack was easy enough for him to dodge.

The green-haired alien looked down at Ichigo, who was beaming at the sight of her friends. He spoke quietly, yet the cat-girl, with her extraordinary senses, heard it as if he were screaming, 'Ichigo…' She looked over at him and glared, his lower lip began to tremble.

_What had he done to her?_

'G-gomenasai.' Without further ado, the devastated alien disappeared, just missing an attack from Lettuce's Castanets.

Ichigo stared at the spot where Kisshu just was moments ago.

_What had all that been about? First it was quite normal with his perverted remarks and forceful positions… then he seemed to turn – evil. Well, more evil then he was now, I suppose._ The Felis Iriomotensis mused after changing into her human form.

There was the whole deal with the Dragon Swords and then the electrocution. And finally, his disbelief afterwards. It was as if he was as just as shocked as he was.

"_No. No way." That was what he had said before he pressed the button on his Sword. Then it seemed that his fears had been confirmed… oh, what am I thinking!_

'Ichigo? ICHIGO!' The familiar voice of Aizawa Mint, her best friend, calling her, knocked her out of her ruminations.

Ichigo blinked once, then twice, then about nine more times before she responded with anything else but heavy breathing.

Yet still, her mind was wandering, fast. There was a lot to be pondered.

Zakuro and Lettuce, both still in their Mew forms, helped Ichigo up with their combined power. Ichigo stood, albeit shakily for the first couple of seconds, but then her resolve strengthened and she was able to take a few steps forward.

'Come on,' Zakuro spoke to the Mews in all-round seriousness, 'Lets go.'

Just as Ichigo was about to start walking, something on the ground caught her eye.

It was a sword. Kisshu's. But it wasn't the pronged one. That was laying a way away from their location. Ichigo shuddered, trying not to think about it. The sword on the ground, however, must have been the one in the tree.

Without thinking, Ichigo picked it up. Afterwards, she realised that had been a pretty stupid thing to do… _What if it had been booby-trapped?_

She shook her head. Kisshu wasn't dumb, although she liked to think differently. He wouldn't booby-trap his own weapon. Mew Aqua, maybe, but not his Dragon Swords.

Before anyone noticed, Ichigo placed the sword between her shirt and the jacket Zakuro had lent her after helping her up.

Despite the warmth from her clothes of her normal self, Ichigo shivered.

Something was very, very wrong.

* * *

**End Note:** Wow… That's longer than I thought it would be. Heh, sorry guys, must be quite a read. Tell me what you feel about this so far? (If you say confusing, I agree, lol)

Love,

exangeline


	2. Insecure

**Disclaimer:** Again, Don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. _Prometheus_, the name of Kisshu's ship in this fanfiction, was adapted from the Tau'ri (Human) ship _Prometheus_, in Stargate SG-1.

**Note: **Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter. Lol. This chapter's even longer! 14 pages! Heh. I have a tendency to reply to my reviews, guys. A lot. It's kind of like a conversation… but with reviewing…nvm. Anyway, the replies are at the bottom of the page.

Lyrics by _Crossfade_.

* * *

Chapter o2: Insecure

_Looking back at me, I see  
__That I never really got it right  
__I never stopped to think of you  
__I'm always wrapped up in  
__Things I cannot win_

'Mom! Dad! I'm home!' Ichigo yelled out to her parents as she walked through the front door. She kicked off her shoes and, when receiving no reply, searched the house for her elders.

With a dejected sigh, Ichigo took her time in walking to the kitchen. Her parents weren't anywhere in the house. _They've gone out_, she registered.

It was barely four o'clock in the afternoon. Making her way to the fridge, Ichigo noticed a note attached to the window of the griller. She plucked the folded white piece of paper from its place on the thick fiberglass and removed the blutak from the back of it. Then, whilst smoothing it out with her left hand, opened the note with her right.

_Ichigo,_

_Your father and I have gone out to the Markets. We won't be back until late. There's food in the microwave, make sure you eat up!_

_Love,_

_Mom_

_P.S. We'll be back around 8 o'clock. Make sure your room's clean._

The teenager sighed again. Ah well, there was nothing she could do about it now. She faced at least three hours of boredom in her empty home; usually she turned for her parents for entertainment. Their petty little fights were quite humorous to watch, and it was always over stupid things like soy sauce or what flavor cheese should be added on spaghetti.

'Talking about spaghetti,' the stench of the tomato-based sauce soared through the air and hit the cat-girl's nose – full blast. Suddenly, despite the premature timing, all Ichigo wanted to do was burrow herself through the meal.

And so she did. It took only minutes to heat up the dinner and when it was ready to serve, Ichigo hauled herself and the food up the stairs and towards her room, a good action thriller situated in between her chest and the hand carrying the plate of warm spaghetti.

She almost cried out at how messy the room before her was. Books were over-piled on the desk and homework obviously yet to be completed. Clothes swathed the bed and floor, with jumpers and bras slung over the head of her computer chair and television.

Ichigo scowled at the mess. 'Looks like I won't be able to watch that movie.' Placing the spaghetti on the small table next to her bed (perhaps the only place not covered with clothing or books), Ichigo raced down to the first floor and placed the movie _Returner_ back on the shelf that housed the Momomiya's DVD collection.

She trudged back up the stairs again. 'Gah!' She shuddered when reentering her room. The mess was astounding. She couldn't eat in an environment like this, let alone work.

Slurping up a few mouthfuls of warm pasta with spaghetti sauce coated thickly on top, Ichigo got to work on cleaning up her bedroom. She decided, after about twenty minutes, that giving death glares to her closet wasn't going to make it tidy, and she stuck into that as well.

By the time she was done, it was six thirty. Which only gave her an hour and a half before her parents were back…

…Only an hour and a half to do the majority of her assignments, homework and case studies needed for her to pass school.

Another sigh was emitted from the depressed teen. Well, she wouldn't go down without a fight. She plucked a random sheet from the pile that was continuously growing on her desk. It was a history report, due the next day, that was to be about the refugees that migrated from Japan to Australia in the 1970's.

_How boring_, Ichigo thought sorrowfully. With the sheet in hand, the auburn-haired heroine belly-flopped onto the now clean luxury of her bed. She placed the assignment aside and, with her other hand, promptly removed the pillow from its position underneath her and threw it hard on top of her head.

Ichigo sighed into the cold, neglected fabric of her pillow. She opened her eyes a little, shutting them again when the violently pink view came into mind.

'Too bright, even for a pillow,' She groaned and, upon turning, fell off the bed. The feline landed on her back, quite painfully, against the hard carpet floor.

_Whoever said that cats always landed on their feet is going to get their ass kicked,_ the strawberry alleged silently. Getting to her feet, Ichigo walked dizzily over towards her computer desk. She removed all cords attached to her DELL laptop and took the silver contraption over towards her bed.

She grinned for the first time that afternoon, 'Wireless connection rules!' She thanked her dad mutely for buying and installing the new modem into her PC. She flipped up the monitor of the notebook and pressed down on a dark grey button on the top left-hand corner of the keyboard space.

The computer whirled to life. An image, portraying a colored flag with the words WINDOWS XP written underneath in bold white writing came onto the screen. A blue bar rotated at the bottom of the page.

Once the OS had finished booting, the screen turned azure. In the middle was an icon and next to it were the words, "Ichigo Strawberry." The cat-girl clicked on the icon. A box appeared underneath the words: Password.

In the box, Ichigo tapped a few keys, which turned up as black circles; as passwords are accustom to do. She typed "Iriomote" into the box. The words turned grey as the computer scanned the database to match the two password entries.

A second later, the computer beeped in commandment. The screen then turned into that of a lively background. A DNA strand was located on the right side and a picture of the American superstar Jessica Alba was posing on the other side. At the bottom, the words _Max Guevara - Catgirl_ were present. At the top, the heading was _Dark Angel._

Ichigo grinned at the desktop background, but remembered the real reason why she had booted up the computer in the first place. With a small frown, the secret heroine opened a new word document as well as an Internet Explorer window.

She went to Google – on a quest to find websites about boat people. Finally, after almost twenty minutes of opening websites, evaluating them, then pressing the _close_ button on almost all of them, she found a website full of articles from CNN.

The introduction began with talking about the origins of the words _boat people_; Ichigo decided her report would be best to start similar, with a definition.

Again, in Google, the kitten typed in _define:boat people_. The search came up with few results, of which Ichigo read through them all. After reading, she decided on the first one.

It didn't take the strawberry very long before she got utterly bored with reading about immigration into Australia, a country she had actually never visited before.

To help her along, she decided, she would load up iTunes, in hope that some music would help her through the assignment. It took only seconds for the PC to acknowledge her command and process the GUI layout of iTunes.

Ichigo blinked once then twice at the powder blue and silver database of music. Then, regaining composure, she double clicked on the song "Far Away" by Nickelback – the song of which she had decided would be Aoyama-kun and her new theme song.

_I keep dreaming you'll be with me  
and you'll never go  
Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore_

Ichigo sighed, thinking about the handsome student who had captured her heart. _He's so gorgeous_; she spoke mentally, blissfully drifting off into a daydream of her true love.

Only seconds into that daydream, however, the scene changed. She was Mew Ichigo, running through the forests near Café Mew Mew. She was running with all she had in her, panting softly. Finally, the Mew leader came to the oh-so-familiar clearing and ducked behind the trunk of a large oak tree, and then there was the voice…

The cat-girl shrieked, mentally planting C4 on the tracks to blow that train of thought away for good. She pressed the detonator and BAM! The kitten awoke from her daydream.

She exhaled noisily, her breath coming out in large puffs. Of course she couldn't get the incident out of her head! It happened that morning and shocked her extremely.

Ichigo placed her head down on the bed, wary of the laptop's keyboard. 'Kisshu…' The cat girl said, suddenly saddened by the array of feelings that filled her heart when she thought about him. 'Where – Where are you?' On instinct, she looked up at the window, wishing for him to be there. Not because she particularly wanted him to stalk her or anything…

But so something in that day would remain normal.

Ryou AND Minto had been nice to her, Lettuce and Zakuro were still their normal selves but Pudding was unusually quite as well. It drove Ichigo mad to see her friends so out of character.

And Kish – he was out of character too. Way out of character.

Although, he had tried to hurt her before… She obviously thought he really liked her enough not to hurt her anymore, but she must have guessed wrong.

_His face was so angry_, Ichigo mused to herself noiselessly, _I've never seen someone so angry…_ She scrunched up her face, features molding into an expression of extreme discomfort or irritation. She was uncomfortable AND extremely annoyed.

'Why? Why can't I get rid of this looming feeling! Gah!' The girl buried her head further into the mattress. She could feel the migraine approaching. Awful sediment returned to her from earlier on in the morning. That bad feeling…

The feeling that something was wrong.

There was. Something was very, very wrong. She didn't know what, all she knew was that it was evil. Could it be… this Deep Blue that the aliens were talking about?

'K-Kisshu.' After uttering the name of the middle aged alien, the feelings of impending doom faded gradually. Ichigo relaxed into the doona, her scalp resting against the bottom of her laptop. She groaned with relief, the migraine slowly dissipated as well.

_Why did saying Kisshu's name get rid of the bad feeling when he was the one that produced the feeling in the first place?_

Ichigo sat up and her eyes fell onto the plate of now cold her bedroom door with the one she had free. She swung open the door and walked out, down the stairs, and into the kitchen.

When in the small, tiled room, Ichigo threw the remains (the majority of the spaghetti, actually) into the bin. She knew she should eat, but after the events of today – as well as the double cheesy pizza's her friends and herself devoured for lunch – she had misplaced her appetite.

Ichigo re-entered her room. It was almost spotless, except for the messed up doona she had placed her head in earlier. She grinned; her mom was going to be so happy when she saw that.

As she was making her way back to her bed, something caught Ichigo's eye. It was lying on her desk, near the now neatly stacked textbooks and work volumes. She walked over to it curiously, and then remembered something.

It was Kisshu's Dragon Sword. The one she had taken from the wounded tree. She picked it up, twirling it swiftly around with her fingers. It moved, in a blur of metallic silver and white.

_I wonder._

The fifteen-year-old stopped spinning the knife and held it in her hands, inert. Then, with an inquisitive yet cautious thought, she pressed the green oval in the middle of the hilt.

Her memory preceded her actions…

_Ichigo just watched Kisshu. His gaze averted from her face, to something in his hand. It was like his Dragon Sword, only longer. On the end of it was a small, semi-rectangular fork. It had two, evil-looking prongs sticking out of it and was silver, like the blade of his daggers._

_His eyes, if possible, grew twice the size of which they were._

'_No… No way.' He pressed the small, green oval on his dragon sword. Ichigo had once believed that it was only there as decoration. She was proved wrong in the next second._

_Kisshu bought the hybrid stick up to his face, at least a foot away. He pressed down on the oval harder, his knuckles turning white. Ichigo blinked lazily, what was he doing?_

_Suddenly, the two prongs turned a deep emerald, then, in between the two, was a spark. It only shone for a second before –_

_CRACK!_

_The hilt of the sword suddenly exploded in an off-white, slightly yellow light. Electrical currents ran up the sword, towards the prongs and when they hit: BAM! _

_There was another heinous crack. Ichigo almost covered her cat ears from her place on the floor, where she had fallen after her seizure. The prongs of Kisshu's sword sparked with electricity. She could see the forks of yellow build up between the two._

_It all made sense. She didn't have a heart attack or a seizure. She had been electrocuted._

_By Kisshu and his pronged sword._

She jumped out of the recollection as soon as she had fallen under its hypnotic spell. She pressed on the oval harder, channeling all her power into it.

Nothing happened.

'But…' The strawberry started, confused, '…Their supposed to be identical.'

* * *

Kisshu gazed down at the green-blue planet before him. It had an odd serenity about it, yet he frowned. Earth should have been theirs by now – if it wasn't for the humans…

The green-haired alien's thoughts were interrupted suddenly with a wave of guilt. The events of the morning still had his emotions in their grasp. The object of his desire came to his mind immediately. Her face, which hung in the air above him, was smiling down at him.

'Ichigo.' Her name was beautiful, as was she.

But then it changed. Her face morphed into that of the one she was wearing after he had electrocuted her with the Hybrid Sword. Complete and utter fear adorned her features.

Kish shuddered. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get her face – terrified at what _he_ had done to her – out of his mind.

'Why?' The extraterrestrial muttered to himself, desperate to keep himself away from the looming depression that hung over him like a black cloud. 'Why now?'

He buried his face in his hands, not knowing what else to do under the circumstances. The thoughts that crossed his mind could make anyone recoil in disgust and dislike.

His fraught murmuring was quite rudely interrupted by the yell of, 'Hey, Kisshu!' Then the arrival of Taruto, the smallest alien on board _Prometheus_, Kisshu's ship.

In all actuality, Kisshu wasn't in the ship at the time. He was _on_ the ship. Above the satellite dish, which looked suspiciously like a long, silver trumpet, was a small strip of smooth, unmarked metal.

_Great,_ he thought to himself, _just what I need…_ Truthfully, he was glad for the distraction. It saved him from the silence that followed the depression wave.

'Oi!' He was knocked, again, out of his reveries when Tart poked him on the back, hard. Kish scowled at him, but then forced his face to relax. He couldn't let them think that this mission has gotten to him, no way. That would equal disaster for his reputation, not to mention his pride.

'What do you want?' He replied the small brunette boy.

Taruto stuck his tongue out at the elder alien. Kish rolled his eyes. 'Childish,' he muttered.

_Now I'm starting to sound like Pai_, he groaned again. _But what does it matter?_

'I just came to ask you if you wanted to have some fun on Earth,' Tart cocked an eyebrow and, as he spoke, sat down next to Kisshu.

The elder alien responded automatically with a mumble of, 'I don't feel like it.' This, unfortunately, did not cause the little alien to leave Kish alone, but to only provoke him further.

He pouted at his senior, 'You never feel like it.' He crossed his arms over his chest defiantly, gazing through at Kisshu with irate orange (an: or are they gold?) eyes.

Kish felt his anger rising. 'Just go away!' he snapped at Taruto but regretted it soon after. The younger being fell into silence, obviously hurt by his friend's words.

'Fine,' he said coldly, 'I'll see you later then.' Without further ado or time for Kisshu to respond to his gesture, Tart teleported away.

_Great,_ Kish thought once he had gone; _now I'm going to feel guilty. As if I don't feel guilty enough as it is!_ The celestial felt like smashing his head against the trumpet-shaped satellite a few hundred times.

He couldn't remain here, bored almost to tears – thus, the space invader teleported himself into the VR room. Maybe all he needed to do was tone his abilities with a little virtual reality.

Pai, the eldest alien bar Deep Blue-sama, was not present in the VR room when Kisshu arrived there. He took this as a sign that Pai had gone with Tart down to Earth, as the VR control room held all the ships computers, bar the navigation and steering controls.

It was also the place Pai worked for almost all the Earth days, bar when they released the Chimera animals. The navigation and steering were located in the cockpit at the far foundation of the alien aircraft.

The control room was where Kisshu drifted too now. He decided that if he were to fight, he should at least do it in style. Earth music seemed to be the way to go for this.

Although he would never admit it, the "Rock" and "Metal" music that the Earth hosted appealed to him. Loud melodies and instruments always had been something he enjoyed, unlike most of his race, whose tastes were within the most sensitive, quite sounds.

He adjusted the satellite dish on the top of the ship. The base of which he had been assembled on before, thinking to himself, began to rotate.

Kish pressed a large button on the side of the control panel, which congested the revolution. With a flip of a switch and the pull of a lever, of which was below the words "Satellite Shift." The outpost began to move down, towards a layer of clouds.

Being alien technology, yet much like Earth satellites, _Prometheus'_ radar and settlement controls could penetrate the thick atmosphere and ozone that surrounded the blue-green planet. The satellite was automatically picking up any broadcasts coming from the area.

Static and vague voices filled the control room. The Satellite Switch lever, still being forced down, was moving towards one country of the globe.

Tokyo, Japan, to be precise.

In minutes, after mastering the art long ago, Kisshu found a radio station that best suited him. _New Tokyo – American Music Station_ happened to be one of the best music stations in Tokyo. Kish positioned the satellite a little further left and then –

"_This is the add-free 50. First up we have Mudvayne, System of a Down, Evanescence and HIM. Further information will be available on the website which has a new live broadcast for overseas fans! Lets get to the music, shall we?"_

Whilst this transmission was being broadcasted, Kisshu had booted the computers for the VR room. After adjusting a few variables, the room was ready to go just as "Forget to Remember" from Mudvayne began.

Deciding that the song would do, Kisshu made his way into the middle of the VR arena. A voice came over the loudspeaker; it's booming tone overlapping the song. It counted down the numbers 5 to 1. Kisshu knew this was how long he had before the simulation began.

**5…**

_What have I done?_

**4…**

_Where have I come from?_

**3…**

_When I burnt the backs with the sun through a glass did I seal the loss that's become me?_

**2…**

_Feeling undone_

**1…**

_What have I become?_

**0…**

_When I turned my back on you I turned my back on myself and became this machine…_

**Simulation: begin!**

The scenario of which the fight takes place is completely random. This time, it was against the Kull Warriors from Edanna, a dead world usually described by humans as 'hell.'

The god that ruled over it was known as Amorphous, a being that has no form, other than shadows and darkness. Kisshu shuddered whenever he thought about the cold-hearted being. Not even they could measure up to his malevolence.

His mind was directed on the task before him. Escape and evade. The scenario was obvious, as was his surroundings. He was in the cockpit of _Prometheus_. Alarms were ringing across the loudspeakers and the only way he could keep himself from remembering this was a simulation was the music in the background.

_Thoughtlessness  
Selfishness  
Hopelessness  
Arrogant_

Snapping out of the daydream almost immediately, Kish turned to monitor the navigation systems. Not only did the controls tell what was outside the ship, but what was inside as well. Much like Keiichiro's method, Kish used the heat from the black armor that was emitted from the Kull Warriors to his advantage.

The dots that appeared on the screen were red and blinking. Kisshu himself was a dot, a green one, which was not blinking but had a faded aura around it.

The green-haired alien saw five red dots on the screen as well as himself. In this simulation, it seemed that Pai and Tart were nowhere to be seen.

Mudvayne continued to belt out "Forget to Remember" as Kisshu ran down the halls and towards the escape pods. He knew, however, that it was going to be more challenging than that. The simulations were never simple.

Nor were they painless.

_I feel it on the inside  
__Twisting and contorting  
__Memory has shaped me once again_

He was correct in his theory that he could not arrive at the escape pod and end the situation in minutes by ejecting himself off the ship.

As he arrived, Kish punched in the combination to the escape pod dome. The console beeped in protest and a message came up upon the screen.

CODE HIBLA – DEFCON 8.9

The extraterrestrial teen's eyes narrowed. _Hibla… Hibla… what was that protocol again?_

It came to him after a few minutes thought. Hibla.

**H**ull **I**nternal **B**reach – **L**ockdown **A**ctivated.

_Still feel you on the inside  
Biting through and stinging  
Will I ever forget to remember? _

Well, he wasn't getting out that way. The Kull Warrior attack had obviously damaged the escape pod dome whilst they landed their ship on top of Prometheus. This was a standard KW attack method, park them on top and ensnare their victims.

The hull, being the dome around the room, had imploded within itself, meaning there was a hole somewhere in the dome. When this situation occurred, Oxygen was lost throughout the entire compromised complex. There was no way anyone could survive in that area now.

_Shadows in the sun  
Filter through us  
Still wrestle the demons that arrested me as a child _

He frowned, and then decided the best place to return to would be the cockpit. He would watch the interior navigation screens and decide what the best course of action would be.

Passing the threshold of the cockpit door, he gazed out the three large, fiberglass windows. His eyes widened. They were approaching the gravitational pull of a black hole. This was the worst possible thing, other than the Kull Warriors, that could actually happen in a real life. His ship would be ripped apart by the force of the pull almost instantly.

_Confession rejected  
We grow up  
To give up  
People step on the cracks for wounds owed paid back  
Through the words of surrender_

Kisshu refused to give in. There is no way he would ever surrender to a Kull Warrior and be taken back to Edanna, the prison of hell the planet was. That is, if the Warriors didn't kill him instead.

He sat on the silver swivel chair in the middle of the room and pushed off of the dashboard. For a brief moment, he glided across the room gracefully. Then, the seat hit the consol on the other side with a _twang_ and it was at a standstill.

The navigation monitor blinked at him. Once he saw the screen, the alien teenager swore.

Three of the five red dots were approaching him.

His position had been made.

_Emptiness  
Loneliness  
Listlessness  
Worthless  
_

He tried to keep his apathy in this situation, but it was proving to be quite hard. The Kull Warriors knew where he was, most probably from the attempted release of the Escape Pod door, which had been locked down due to the HIBLA safeguard in the _Prometheus_' controls.

As he looked at another monitor, which displayed a more detailed map of the ship, a plan formulated in the juvenile officer's head… he would avoid the black-hole by activating the _Prometheus_' advanced hyper-drive and, after exiting hyperspace, find a way to strengthen the auxiliary power to match the main engines so the ship would be destroyed by moving too fast.

He would have to reprogram the precautions in the ships main power core, which was at the centre of the main floor. It would be risky, as he would have to avoid the Kull Warriors and without a planet to orbit, he couldn't teleport.

He also had no way to escape even if his plan succeeded.

The alien sighed; this was going to be a problem. Until he spotted something on the map that caught his attention – it was a large cylinder, both sides closed but with entry space in one side that could be manipulated from both outside and inside. Like an escape pod.

What was it? This troubled him, but it could be his only way out.

And then he knew. It was the rubbish chute. Used to deposit the excess parts and scraps that the _Prometheus_ or the people on board couldn't use.

He grinned, for the first time in the simulation. He was home free.

And that was when he heard it.

_I feel it on the inside  
Twisting and contorting  
Memory has shaped me once again  
_

It was a sound, like a laser being fired. Kisshu visibly paled, even further than his white skin would allow. That sound, of the Kull Warrior's hand laser, was truly terrifying.

They were homing in on his position. He could hear them try to beat down the door. The metal was caving in with a loud screech with every blow.

He had nowhere to go. He was as good as dead.

_Still feel you on the inside  
Biting through and stinging  
Will I ever forget to remember?_

Stuff the plan, stuff the best course of action, Kisshu had to get out of there NOW.

He looked everywhere for a means to escape. He couldn't go through the windows, as they would just lead to space, of which he would either die from lack of air or be sucked into the black hole, which was approaching closer and closer with every passing moment.

He had already tried moving the ship but the black hole's grip was too strong. He couldn't access auxiliary power, as it was located on the other side of the ship.

Teleportation was a no go. His only hope would have to be –

The ventilation shafts.

'Freaking vents… great,' albeit his complaining, Kisshu was estatic – he wasn't done for yet. There was still hope.

_Can you save me?  
From myself  
From these memories  
_

As he was proceeding to crawl on his hands and knee's through the vent, the Kull Warriors beat down the door, searching for him. Kish tried to make as little noise as possible. He had closed the ventilation door behind him, as if it hadn't been touched… it bought him some time but he knew they would be looking for him meticulously.

There was a loud creak once he crept over it. He looked down to see another aeration cover below. He was very lucky that the Escape Pod dome wasn't connected to the shafts, or both him and the ship would have already been torn apart.

_Can you save me?  
From myself  
From these memories  
_

Deciding that he had crawled enough, Kisshu took a knee back, hoisting himself off the vent jacket then pried the jacket off itself, praying to whatever god there was that there were no Kull Warriors in the room he was exiting.

Carefully, the Martian creature lowered himself down and fell to the floor, on his feet, knees bent. He scanned the room, hands up and ready to strike (although against a Kull Warrior, you wouldn't get very far with hand-to-hand combat due to their extremely thick and impenetrable armor) and when he registered that no threat was present, he lowered his arms.

This is when he realised which room he had entered. He smirked demonically.

It was the arsenal.

_Surrender  
To the shadows  
Haunting inside  
_

Immediately, Kisshu got to work. He brushed back the bangs that fell over his eyes when he bent down to open the cupboard below, where the specialist weapons were located.

When he opened the sideboard however, he was met with only emptiness.

Shit. Someone had taken the BW Pistols already.

BW was the abbreviation for Beam Weapons. A Beam Weapon Pistol was the only thing that could penetrate the Kull Warrior's fitted armor. Not even electrical pulses could infiltrate the plates surrounding the body of the wearer. In fact, it had no effect at all.

'Surprised?' A dark voice came from behind him. Kisshu, on instinct, turned, only to stare into the heinously black helmet of the Kull Warrior before him. The alien teenager recoiled visibly, the small amount of colour that had returned to his face when he thought he was saved, fled it immediately, turning his pale skin completely white.

_Bleed through you  
Surrender to the secretes…inside  
Lies within you  
_

He was definitely not going to make it through this simulation. Only to him, it felt like his actual death. He was too far in to realise it wasn't real.

'You should be,' the warrior continued in his malevolent voice. His words made Kisshu quiver with fear. He would never see his Koneko-chan again.

Instead of raising his weapon to deliver a swift ending to Kisshu's life, the Kull Warrior did something strange.

He removed his helmet.

Kish had been told that the armor was an actual part of the warrior. But this seemed to be only a rumor to him now. He looked in the eyes of the creature that would carry out his death sentence.

The alien's eyes widened.

No. This couldn't be.

He looked into a pair of mirrored golden eyes, shocked beyond belief.

_I feel it on the inside  
Twisting and contorting  
Memory has shaped me once again_

_Still feel you on the inside  
Biting through and stinging  
Will I ever forget to remember?  
_

He was staring back at his own face.

It was identical to his, the deep yellow eyes, the pale skin and the hair. Only the other him had grown it out. It went almost to waist length; still tied into the two ponytails that Kisshu had himself. They were tied with the same red bands.

'Wha-Who are you?'

The man, who was obviously older than him, an adult, pointed at Kisshu's chest. The younger being in the room gasped, as if he had struck him.

'I am you.'

He felt his blood run cold.

_Can't feel you on the inside  
Set down the bag and left it  
Lost memory has left me  
Once again  
_

'N-no! You can't be! I'm here… I'm – me.' Or he was convinced he was himself. But that wasn't the point.

The elder cocked an eyebrow at him, 'Really?'

This only confused Kisshu even more, 'Huh?'

A laugh sounded through the air, it was crisp and dark. The man was laughing at him.

_This guy must be an imposter_, Kisshu thought to himself; _maybe they have a new device that can mimic other people_. He knew, however, that no such idea existed.

_Open up the inside  
Admission for the cleansing  
Now that I've forgotten to remember_

His imposter, still clad in the Kull Warrior Armor, spoke again then. 'Could you really kill yourself?' Kish blinked.

'I don't have a weapon. I can't kill you.'

The imposter smirked down at his younger opponent, 'Yes you can. You don't need a weapon. You already have the power.'

He took a step towards him. In return, Kisshu took another one back. The two continued this until Kisshu found himself pinned against the wall.

His enemy placed the length of his lower arm against his neck. Kisshu shuddered at the feeling of the black armor against his skin. He gasped again when his breathing became constricted. His imposer was going to suffocate him.

'Your not getting away this time, Harcesis.'

Kisshu couldn't speak. His thoughts faded into black.

_Surrender  
To the shadows  
Haunting inside  
Bleed through you_

* * *

'Kisshu! KISSHU…what should we do, Pai, he's not waking up!' The voice was high pitched and frantic, it was the first thing he heard when Kish stirred from unconsciousness.

'Look-' Another voice, of which Kish registered was Pai, filled the void of silence that had previously captivated the alien teenager, '-Tart! Get off me! That hurts!' There was a pause, 'He's coming to.'

_I hate silence_, Kish thought to himself as he tried to open his eyes, _but it's better than the alternative_.

Once his eyes snapped open, his two friends hoisted him up into a sitting position. 'Wha- what happened?' He could feel a migraine coming along and it was NOT amusing.

He frowned and squeezed his eyes shut, which made the dull throb in his head deepen painfully, causing him to cry out and alarm both the younger and elder alien flanked at his left and right sides.

All Kisshu wanted to do was lay down again. Sleep. Lose consciousness. He didn't care so long as he didn't have these thoughts and memories, from eons past, to return to him again.

_It… it hurts too much_. It wasn't the migraine harming him now, but the memory.

'Kisshu! Are you okay? What happened?' Taruto bombarded his elder with questions. Kisshu frowned. This was not helping.

'Didn't I just ask you that?' The alien placed a pale white hand to his equally pallid forehead. He recoiled at his own touch.

'I'm starting to remember,' thoughts flooded through him even as he spoke, 'tell me what you know.' He directed his question towards Pai more than Tart as the littlest alien was still asking questions.

The eldest alien began, 'Tart and I were returning from our mission on Earth. Tart went looking for you and I went up to the control room where I noticed the satellite was active – I shut it down. Then I realised the Virtual Reality controls were also active.'

He continued, after a brief nod to his recovering friend, 'and that's when I found you, lying on the floor in the Virtual Reality room. I called Tart, we tried to wake you and there you have it.'

Kisshu nodded, 'I was in a scenario with the Kull Warriors-' he saw Tart shudder, '-I guess one of them snuck up on me.' He knew this was a lie, but he couldn't tell them what really happened. They wouldn't understand. That something was stuck in his memory even now. It scared him inconceivably.

He sighed. Everything had been so peaceful when it had been silent. It was strange for him to admit, but true.

'Pai?' Kisshu whispered, suddenly feeling horribly drained. 'Are you sure those warriors aren't…like us? I mean, without the armour?'

Pai nodded again, although for a different purpose this time. 'Positive,' the adult alleged, 'The armour of the Kull Warrior is embedded in the skin and flesh of the creature.'

Creature. This answer only served to confuse Kisshu. Yet he couldn't ask anything further without revealing what he had seen.

How could the identical onii-sama survive without the armour if it was embedded in his skin? Kisshu clearly remembered the figure removing the Kull Warrior helmet to reveal and un-marked face. In fact, it was quite similar to his. Yet Kisshu had no living relatives or siblings.

But there were differences too. Kish couldn't follow that train of thought because right then Pai interrupted the array of mental voices with: 'are we done here? You should visit the infirmary.'

So he did. Eustachia, the nurse in the infirmary sent from Madrona (Kisshu's planet), smiled as he walked in.

'Ah, Kisshu-Kisshu, so what did you do his time?' Eustachia, being sent down to silently monitor the alien's fights with the Mew Mew's, was not present when he fell and apparently fainted.

The beautiful alien female smiled serenely, tossing one of her many ebony locks over her strong shoulders. Today, she wore a simple white dress, almost the same shade of her light skin, but a bit brighter.

Kisshu adored Eustachia, yet she was more like a mother to him than a potential lover and would stay like that. The nurse was many summers older than he and his heart lied solely with his Koneko-chan, albeit the fact that the love was not returned.

The female alien's sapphire eyes narrowed slightly in soft and well-intended suspicion. 'Is something on your mind, Kisshu-san?'

The younger alien blinked up at her dumbly before saying, 'I fainted in the VR room and I thought I saw something just before.' He shrugged, 'It must have been in the simulation.'

Eustachia guided him over to one of the hospital beds of the infirmary. 'Tell me,' the nurse requested. Kish nodded, knowing his secret was safe with her.

And so he told her everything, the incident with Ichigo that morning and how he felt like he couldn't control it, his thoughts after, then the incident with the VR room and the scenario of the Kull warriors, the mysterious elder look-alike and finally how he woke up feeling peculiarly like crap.

Eustachia had remained silent for the period of time in which he spoke. Finally, once he had finished, she replied to his epic. 'You should go visit her. You need not say anything nor make your presence known to her. But nonetheless, make sure she's coping.'

Kish nodded and moved to teleport, but Eustachia stopped him. She placed a few vibrantly red tablets into his hand. 'To help with the headache,' was all she said to him. He nodded.

_Then_ he teleported off the ship. As he was beaming down to Earth, something struck him. He hadn't told Eustachia that he had had a headache.

Albeit the circumstances, Kisshu smiled. That woman sure was amazing.

* * *

**End Note: **Chapter two is finitio! Yay Postie time:D Please review and tell me what you think. Feedback is awesome. Btw, Kisshu isn't going to get with Eustachia, just thought I'd clarify. She's just a character I shoved in to give him advice

**Replies:**

**_Tylec Asroc:_** Despite how smart everyone says I sound when writing a fanfic, I had to search up what _xenophobia_ really was. Lol. I could just imagine Kisshu walking down the street, screaming his head off at the fact that there are so many strangers. But I bet you meant the fear of the 'unknown.' Thanks for the review.

**_Cruelfeline:_** Most of my grammatical errors come from the fact that a) my computer grammar checker sucks, b) I live in Australia (where we say colour instead of color) and c) I HATE the word lose. Lol. Seriously, I got marks deducted from one of my reports because I kept spelling that word wrong.

Anyways… I feel privileged. Extremely privileged as you write kishxichigo goodness so well yourself Heh. I guess the chapter length thing came from the fact that I drabble on a lot (I like discussing EVERYTHING… and yet I still have trouble phoning people…O.o), oh, and that after spending two years writing duds for Harry Potter and Mediator fics, my lengthiness finally paid off. Yay dances

One more thing – Calculus Test? You poor, poor soul. I shudder even at the mention of the two words alone, let alone in an actual SENTENCE together.

**_Shardra-Chan:_** Heh. Thank-cha:D Your stories are awesome too!

**_Saingirl101_: **Yay! Fourth reviewer. Thanks for reviewing. I've read your story, but I'm not sure if I left a comment… anyways, thanks again.

Love,  
exangeline


	3. Possessions

**Disclaimer:** Anything you recognize, I don't own. For people who don't watch Stargate SG-1 (this is NOT a crossover, by the way) neither the name _Prometheus_ nor the idea of the Kull Warriors belongs to me.

**Note:** Woop Woop! Chapter Three. Heh. Thy story is thy progressing in thy plot. Heh. _Thy_ is an awesome word. Replies are again at the bottom of the page. I seem to be neglecting the Mews a lot, but I promise they will be present in the next chapter or so.

Lyrics by _Crossfade_.

* * *

Chapter o3: Possessions

_Yea it's what I've become that I fear the most  
__I never thought it could get so wrong,  
I believe there's a part of me that I cannot beat,  
A part of me that I can't defeat,  
The side of me that just doesn't belong_

_Amorphous was seated on the colossal throne built by his slaves. He smirked demonically to no one in particular.  
__  
Everything was going according to plan. The fool, Deep Blue, was leading his race into annihilation. The humans on Earth and the rac'shai on Madrona (_**an:** sorry for confusing you into thinking Kish was from Mars but I didn't think the word Martian meant 'from Mars,' so Kisshu and his race will now be called either rac'shai or Madronan's_) would go to war, wiping out both races completely._

_Then the Harcesis child would HAVE to join him. He would have nothing left._

_And all because he had promised to spare Deep Blue's life and, once he ruled the universe, let him create an empire on the beautiful blue-green planet Earth. In exchange, Deep Blue would be loyal to him. He did not intend, of course, to keep that promise. The alien was as good as dead._

_The evil emperor chuckled manically to himself. This laughter echoed through the halls of the flame palace. Had anyone been in those halls, they would have fallen to the floor in pain, as the devil's laughter bought suffering to every mortal._

_The doors to the throne room flew open and in walked a Kull Warrior. Completely loyal to him, Kull Warriors were the ideal soldiers to use against enemies. They were made, not born. They didn't have the ability to feel._

_Except for this one, for he was not a true Kull Warrior, but merely an alien, with nothing to loose as he had nothing left, and who pledged his allegiance to the Dark Lord._

'_Report, Keishu.' _

(**an:** Pronounced KUY-SHOE)

_The Kull Warrior knelt before him. Underneath his helmet, the man named Keishu smirked._

'_I am making progress. Soon, the Harcesis will be yours.'_

* * *

Ichigo played with the Dragon Sword. The dagger was entwined through her fingers. She idly spun it around, watching the light hit its deadly blade in amazement. She then gripped the hilt and slashed at the air in front of her, pretending to strike an enemy.

Her maneuvering of the sword was completely inaccurate, Kisshu saw, as he teleported onto the balcony next to her window.

Before he realised what he was doing, the alien had materialized behind the unsuspecting wildcat, who was still trying to use the Sword properly. He placed a hand over hers and another around her waist.

With the combined help – Ichigo out of shock, Kisshu out of skill – the blade moved perfectly through the air in a clean cut.

Ichigo, completely bewildered, spun around. Kish released her, 'That's how you do it,' he said.

'Kisshu!' Ichigo took a step back, shocked. She didn't expect him here, in her room; that much was obvious.

The usually mischievous alien stared back at her, face completely deadpan. For a moment, fear gripped the young girl's heart, convinced that he was going to strike at her again.

But, to her relief, all he did was say, 'I meant what I said earlier.' His gaze migrated from her face, still slightly surprised, to the floor in the next instant after speaking. Both cat-girl and extraterrestrial stood in silence for a moment.

Ichigo then replied, scoffing, 'Oh, what? "I want to kill you?"'

Kisshu grimaced, looking pained. 'No,' he took the sword out of her hand then dropped it himself. It fell to the floor with a clatter. Ichigo stared down at it for a brief moment before averting her glare back to Kish.

He stepped in, closer to her, and wrapped his arms around her. Taken aback, Ichigo let him embrace her in silence. 'I said: Gomenasai, Ichigo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you.' He whispered into her hair softly.

The confused cat-girl broke away from him, her perplexity shown clearly on her face. After another moment of silence, she remarked skeptically, 'What did you _really_ come here for? I know your planning something, now what is it?' She placed her hands on her hips and gave him another scowl.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._ Kisshu felt his heart begin to beat faster and faster. Suddenly, the entire brunt of his previous migraine came back to him, full blast. He had forgotten to take the medicine that Eustachia had given to him – the small red tablets.

He could feel the power drain out of him, moving from his body to the floor as fast as lightning. This was so unexpected to the poor Madronan that he fell to his knees clumsily.

Kisshu gritted his teeth in pain, 'I mean it. I came to see if you were alright.' He couldn't help but release a cry of pain. 'It hurts, Ichigo.' He murmured to her.

Before she could do anything about Kisshu's complication, Ichigo's parents, who had long since returned to the household, heard the commotion upstairs and raced up to see what was happening. It seemed to be that they were concerned with every little noise she made (in this case, it was her yelling, 'Kisshu!')

'Disappear! Teleport, whatever you call it! My parents are coming.' Kisshu, still on the floor, ignored her plea. He was too intent on trying to find where he put the tablets; even then, it was a task he was sure he would not complete before he fainted again.

The strawberry sweat-dropped. She made a quick decision based primarily on instinct. Ichigo hoisted the alien into her bathroom and shut the door right before her Mom walked in. 'what's wrong, Ichigo? We thought we heard something.'

'Uh… ano… it was nothing, Mom.' Her mom smiled at her, clearly believing that her daughter would have no part in fighting aliens and the like.

'Okay then, Honey.' She shut the door and proceeded to walk down the stares towards the living room. Ichigo breathed a huge sigh of relief and, once her mother's footsteps were no longer audible, she opened the bathroom door.

Kisshu was leaning against the wall adjacent to the door. A thin line of sweat covered his forehead and Ichigo noticed he had three, red tablets in his hand. He threw them into his mouth before she could ask him what they were.

The cat-girl just stood there, staring at him. She hadn't seen him look so… flushed before. His skin had always been a light ivory, like the moon –

No way. She didn't just compare him to the moon, did she? Didn't people start comparing others to beautiful things when they were in love with them?

_AHH!_ The Catgirl chastised herself mentally, _it must have been a mistake… it was a mistake… I love Aoyama-kun! Not Kisshuuuuu!_

Her train of thought was lost when she heard the alien speak lightly, 'H-hey, Koneko-chan.'

Ichigo, apparently forgetting her previous state of mind involving the alien boy in front of her, glared down at Kisshu. 'What are you still doing here?'

Kisshu replied weakly, albeit the fact that he could feel his strength returning; 'Can't teleport yet.' He spoke simply, stating only what was needed. It hurt, despite his returning potency, to speak even just a few words.

The Iriomote Wildcat suddenly became oddly curious about this matter, 'Why not?' Immediately afterwards, as if regaining her sanity after a brief moment of folly, she snapped, 'You can't stay here!'

Kisshu frowned; maybe he could just close his eyes for a second… _only for… a second…_ 'Don't I know it,' he replied subconsciously.

Ichigo asked, warily, 'Are you alright?'

He chucked a bit at that one, 'I knew you cared about me.'

'No, I just don't want to be skinned alive by your comrades if you die here,' the heroine responded quickly, a small flush appearing across her cheeks. She was actually generally worried about him, considering what had happened that morning.

She expected him to reply with a sly wisecrack or a perverted remark. The cat-girl was completely surprised, however, when he spoke softly – woefully.

'They wouldn't care. I'm just another causality. Just like the rest of my family.'

Ichigo blinked in astonishment, which seemed to be the emotion that reined over her lately. Amazement. Shock. Everything seemed to be unbelievable to her, or come as a surprise. Well, why shouldn't it? She was a Mew Mew; after all, unexpected things happened to her all the time.

She frowned, concerned. Kisshu continued, to her dismay. 'But I guess you don't really care about that much, do you?' Her heart, despite how strong it may have seemed, almost shattered with the looming depression and pent-up emotion she could hear in his voice.

_Why? Why am I feeling like this? It's Kisshu. He's my enemy. So why do I feel like he's not?_ Random thoughts and questions captivated her in their mysterious grasp.

'I'm feeling a bit better now, so I'll take my leave. Thank you, Kitten.' He moved to teleport again, Ichigo, on impulse, called out, 'Wait' and locked his arm into a vice grip just before he disappeared.

'What do you mean, "they wouldn't care?"' The kitten asked, disturbed by his words. She had so many questions, but the following seemed to dominate.

Kish looked at her through semi-shut eyes. He swayed dizzily, although his headache had been removed from his system once again. Opening the portal to teleport was the hardest part of moving from one place to another; the rest didn't take much energy to accomplish.

'I told you, one life for a million,' he began, seriously not wanting to have this conversation, but he couldn't teleport unless Ichigo released him, otherwise he would end up taking her with him. 'My family was executed just before my arrival here, which is why I took the job.'

His eyes reopened, filled with sorrow. 'I thought it would be a suicide mission.'

Ichigo gasped. He thought it was going to be a _what_? She never expected Kisshu to think that way. She always thought the aliens were heartless creatures that only wanted war. Or that Kisshu was a pervert who just wanted her to fulfil his own sick fantasies.

Oh, was she wrong. She could see that now. Kisshu bought her out of her reverie when he pulled his arm from her grasp. He teleported, but while doing so, spoke to her again.

This was what she heard:

'It still is, your will is too strong to beat, beautiful. We all know that. We're fighting a loosing battle. Not only here, but there as well. Death is the only option.'

And he was gone. Ichigo fell to her knees, trying to calm the array of feelings he had awakened in her.

* * *

_I thought it would be a suicide mission…_

…_It still is. Your will is too strong to beat, beautiful…_

…_Death is the only option…_

Ichigo almost fell out of bed. It had only been a few hours since the second incident with her alien foe (of which she was not sure he actually was a foe anymore) and she hadn't been able to get to sleep at all.

Everytime she drifted off, the words would come back to her. They were haunting her, and she couldn't sleep because of it.

After being roused for the fifth time by her own fear of having nightmares, Ichigo got tired of if. If she wasn't going to get to sleep on her own accord, she was going to _force_ herself to.

The cat-girl plugged the earphones into the top of her iPod and flicked the switch onto "Shuffle Off" which meant it would go in order by artist.

She kept skipping songs until she found the one she sought after.

Usually her taste of music was Jpop, but sometimes she couldn't resist listening to metal songs. Most of the time, they were the slow ones, on occasions; however, she sought out a full-fledged rock hit.

_Memories_ seemed to be a song in between these two genres. It was a slow, full band rock song. Within Temptation wasn't as hardcore as most people believed it to be.

As the W.T song began with its soft guitar solo, Ichigo braced herself for the touching gothic lyrics of the song:

_In this world you tried  
Not leaving me alone behind  
There's no other way  
I prayed to the gods let him stay  
The memories ease the pain inside,  
Now I know why_

This song, despite its content, seemed to always help her shift planes of consciousness. Another song was _Until It Sleeps_, by Metallica, but she was afraid that the lyrics would provoke the wrong train of thought.

Actually, she wasn't quite sure that _Memories_ would save her this time, either.

_All of my memories keep you near.  
In silent moments,  
Imagine you'd be here.  
All of my memories keep you near,  
Your silent whispers, silent tears_

Before the Iriomote could ponder anymore about choice of song, she felt herself drifting into an uneasy, but oddly relaxing sleep as she listened to the lyrics.

_Made me promise I'd try  
To find my way back in this life.  
I hope there is a way  
To give me a sign you're okay.  
Reminds me again it's worth it all  
So I can go home._

* * *

Ichigo's eyes were wide open. Everything around her was black. She spun around, trying to find truth in the darkness. There was nothing there.

She shivered, scared, and tried to look down at herself. She saw nothing. It was so dark; she couldn't see her hands at all.

_Where am I?_ The clique question arose in her mind instantly.

Suddenly, her vision was assaulted with a bright, white light. Her eyes burned, she shut them instinctively. Her apparitions became a vivid red. Then there was a sound.

It was loud, clear. It sounded like…

Applauding.

And not only a few claps, this was a crowd. In fact, it wasn't just clapping she could hear. It was wolf whistling, cheering, screams of "Ichigo, Ichigo" in a rhythmic manner.

The sounds stopped, all of a sudden. Not because it had become silent, but because there was another sound. A beautiful ballet, with music that sounded like it was from an orchestra.

It was her song… _Memories_.

As if she wasn't controlling herself, her eyes snapped open. She was on a stage, millions of cheering fans stood at the brim of the security barrier, screaming her name, applauding at her entrance. She took a few more steps forward.

Ichigo stared at her feet. She was in a thick, white dress. It looked plain enough, but was fit with a pallid corset, which was squeezing her insides. Despite this unpleasantness, she smiled. It had always been her dream to become a singer, albeit she'd never tell anyone.

A tall man, older than her, threw something at her face. She frowned and, on reflex, caught the object by its long, metallic stem.

…A microphone?

Suddenly, she knew what this was all about. With a steady smile, she raised the microphone to her lips and began to sing:

"_All of my memories keep you near.  
In silent moments,  
Imagine you'd be here.  
All of my memories keep you near,  
Your silent whispers, silent tears"_

Her voice sounded exactly like Sharon den Adel! The words just poured out of her gracefully. After the chorus sounded, she began to step closer to the aspirant fans. They screamed her name harder and cheered faster.

Ichigo's smile grew. This was all she had ever wanted, wasn't it?

Before she could belt out any more lyrics in her newly acquired, amazing singing voice. The scene changed. Suddenly, all the fans were gone, as was the stage and the band.

The music, however, rolled on. This time, it sounded deeper, more intense.

A pain in her head, which started as a dull throb, suddenly burst across her body in a white flash of heat and light. Ichigo staggered. The microphone fell from her hands.

She grunted in agony. It took at least five minutes before the migraine wore away. They seemed to be the theme of her evening, actually.

Ichigo stood, straightening her figure into an upright position. When she opened her eyes, however, she immediately wished she hadn't.

The world surrounding her was completely dead. It was a deep shade of rust orange; flames erupted from every surface (bar the strip of land she was standing on) surrounding her.

_Us_. She corrected herself in the next moment. Her senses, super-fast and ultra-sensitive, picked up the scent of another. Someone she knew. Someone who was… familiar. The fact that it wasn't a complete stranger, who could be a serial killer for all she knew, relieved the cat-girl somewhat.

She spun around, trying to find the owner of the scent. Finally, after checking a few times, she moved back to her previous location facing in front of her.

And there he was.

The owner of whatever aroma caressed her, stood in front of her. Actually, that wasn't true, he was actually a few feet away.

He looked downright horrible. His face was torn with bruising and gashes, the latter of which, made his usually ashen skin a mixture of white and red. The wounds looked painful.

The same was with the rest of his body. An ugly flush appeared across the majority of her face when she realised that he was, in fact, wearing no clothes. She tried her hardest not to stare, but her curiosity got the better of her.

_Wait… he's not naked, he's wearing bandages across his chest, feet and arms _she registered. The bandages, previously white, began to modify themselves, fading into a deep crimson. _They were becoming heavy with blood…_

Golden eyes pleaded to her. Two vertical scars ran down his eyelids. It was a miracle his eyes had remained unharmed. More of the red liquid needed to sustain human life ran down the two scars, the droplets giving off the impression of red tears.

The worst abrasion was across the side of his thigh. It looked like a demented bullet wound, perhaps with a technology different to ours but not very unlike it.

Ichigo shuddered, she couldn't begin to imagine the pain he was feeling. The eyes continued to stare at her. Her blush grew deeper and deeper, especially when, after registering her presence, he stepped closer to her.

Blood continued to fall onto the tinted-orange ground beneath them. The scarlet globules of blood mattered the soil and were caught on the blades of grass, also turning them an entrenched ruby. Ichigo felt tears being bought to her own eyes.

Her hand arose to touch her face, unconsciously checking if her tears were burgundy, as his was. By the time she gave herself the all clear, he was directly in front of her.

Ichigo's eyes widened with shock, more than fear. This time, when she looked into his eyes, the droplets that fell were clear. Heavy sobs resounded through the crisp, smoky air. It was a phenomenon that either of them hadn't fainted yet, wounds or suffocation alike.

Despite his lack of clothing, Ichigo grabbed him by the waist and pulled the boy in towards her. She squeezed him fiercely, her body smashing against his. Her emotions were running on high, she had executed the action before thinking.

But by then she was too far-gone. She would never wish those types of physical wounds on anyone, not even an enemy. Her heart, which she was sure had been unassailable, shattered once again before her eyes.

Both cat-girl and alien began to cry in rhythm with each other. The floor found they're way to them and soon enough, he was resting against her, back towards her and face buried into her lap. She just held him; despite the fact her affections lied with another.

'I'm sorry, Ichigo, I'm sorry… I couldn't stop them…' More tears fell. After his declaration, everything was silent bar the crackling of the yellow-orange flames surrounding them both.

Ichigo stroked his head. The moment her head collided with his forest green hair she realised there was a bandage around there as well.

Just as she was about to remove the bandage, his eyes widened.

Suddenly, Kisshu broke from Ichigo's grip. It took nanoseconds for him to stand. It happened so fast that his figure was a blur. The only time she really saw anything was when he stopped and turned to her.

'Their coming.' Was all he said, before uttering those final words, 'Stay here, my princess.'

Her curiosity, despite the complete fear that gripped her heart when she saw his figure disappear into the flames, got the better of her. She followed after him, still clad in the pallid dress she had been wearing while pouring her heart out to the beckoning crowd.

Her path was blocked by the row of scorching flames. They arose, increasing to heights unknown to normal flames. 'Stay here!' The yell, more commanding this time, resounded.

Ichigo didn't listen. She wouldn't let them harm him anymore.

She swallowed fearfully. The Wildcat then shut her eyes, squeezing them as hard as she could manage before it hurt. Then, in one swift movement, she threw herself at the flames.

Expecting pain, the Felis Iriomotensis cringed. However, when nothing abraded her skin or struck at her hair, she fell into perplexity once more.

The strawberry made her way through the fire without any difficulty. Without hesitating to run forward once more at lightning speed, Ichigo ran towards the path that he took moments before. Her white dress flared up behind her as she sprinted.

Her destination was getting closer and closer by every passing second. Finally, she made her way into a clearing.

Kisshu, however, was gone. He was nowhere to be seen. She looked everywhere, then turned back to her original position, like she had before.

No luck. It was as if he had just disappeared.

The attack came out of nowhere. A dark shadow darted out of the forest of flames on the other side of what seemed to be the battlefield. A knife struck down on her shoulder, hard. Ichigo cried out in pain, trying to locate the unseen enemy.

A figure, dark and wearing a long, flowing cape like the evil in most movies adorned. This world seemed to be full of cliques, she decided, as she tried to avoid another blow.

She failed. Her feet gave way beneath her. She fell to the ground.

Her eyes widened as the foe came down with the final clout. She screamed, unafraid to show her complete and utter fear any longer.

The blow never came. It seemed that this new realm surrounding her was continuously surprising her. Ichigo looked up to see what had stopped the enemy.

Her enemy was nowhere to be seen, just like Kisshu had disappeared. In place of it was a figure. She distinctly recognised it to be male. An adult. Too old to be Kisshu or herself.

Bright, red-orange hair struck out as the figure stood in the light. It looked as if his hair was on fire! Ichigo gasped at the beautiful yet eccentrically frightening effect.

Dark eyes, almost black, stared back at her. For a brief moment, the darkness reminded her of her lover, Aoyama-kun. Yet not even his face in her mind could calm the murky feelings that loomed over her soul.

'Who are you?' The man blinked. When he opened his eyes again, she saw, they had faded to a cherry red. It was then that she noticed he adorned another distinguishing feature.

Wings. He had wings.

They were unlike any bird, angel or devilish wings she had ever seen in her life. That was most probably because they were made out of flames. They encircled the man's face, deepening his features in a stunning orange glow.

'I only know what you know. I am not the Harcesis. But I am someone you know well.' He bowed his head down to her. His proximity bought heat, like the flames of a fire.

Ichigo's eyes quivered, her entire body trembled. 'It's your duty, _querida_, to find the Harcesis child. Aid him, and you will be safe.'

'Wha-What's a _querida_? And whose the Harcesis?' She had so many questions; this man seemed so wise, yet he said he only knew what she knew.

'There are many people out there trying to harm you and the Harcesis. Yet there are many more who wish to protect you. I am one of them.' His elvan ears twitched quite endearingly when he talked, she noticed, as his face was close enough for her to think that.

Another question arose in her mind, this one quite odd, yet she voiced it nonetheless, 'Do you know the Blue Knight? Are you the Blue Knight?'

To her amazement, the man shot her a smile, 'No. I am not the one you know as the Blue Knight, in neither of his forms. But I do know him. I know him very well.'

There was a sound, acute in its form. It sounded like the sound of footsteps, in fact, she was quite sure the person was running. 'It is time to take my leave,' he said, pausing for a moment as if to assess something.

'If you ever need me… just use this.' He handed something to her, and then he disappeared. Flames erupted from where he once stood.

'Ichigo, ICHIGO!' A voice called to her a moment later. It was Kisshu. The alien ran up to her, and stood in the spot where the flame-man just was.

Ichigo stared down at the object he had given her. It was a small, deep crimson stone, as big as the palm of her hand. It shone in the light of the fire. She spun it around in her hands. She noticed that one side was curved and polished, whereas the other was flat and jagged.

She looked up again. Her eyes met Kisshu's.

His voice was unusually deep to her ears.

'_Eta kuram na smekh'_

Her world faded into blackness once again.

* * *

**End Note:** Not as long as my other chapters, but I had no idea what to put into this. I think I might edit the last part, but I'm not completely sure. For now, however, it will have to do. I hope you all like it

Please review and tell me what I can do with this story.

Love,

exangeline


	4. Openings

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it. That's final.

**Note:** Thanks for all your reviews, peeps, I really appreciate it. It gets me motivated, you know? Lol. I'm trying to progress with a few new plot ideas I have recently had but I'm still not sure what I'm going to end this with. Ah well.

Lyrics by _Pagan's Mind_.

* * *

Chapter o4 – Openings

_Concentrate, you elevate  
An ancient art reveals  
The spirit self begins its journey  
Freed from the mortal shell  
_

SMASH!

Ichigo awakened immediately, body on high alert with Iriomote cat ears and tail present on her head and at the end of her back. The sound of something falling, hitting the floor and shattering met her ears with full force.

Having such high senses in her semi-cat form, the sound resonated throughout her mind, leaving a painful sting behind as it sought its way through to her consciousness.

It took seconds before she realised she was sitting up already. Had she done it on instinct or had she already been sitting up when she awoke?

The confused cat-girl decided with the former, as it was much more likely. Albeit nothing in her life could actually be defined as "likely" or "normal." She shook her head in frustration.

'Have to check the time,' she said to herself sleepily. Ichigo crawled to the blinking red light of her digital alarm clock.

She recognised the crimson numbers on the clock. It read 3:00 am. _Damn_, she thought to herself whilst yawning, _too early to be up…_

Ichigo went to pull the covers back over her head. For some reason, however, she couldn't get a grip on the sheets. She sat up and tried countless more times before she gave up and moved to switch on the light.

Her touch-lamp didn't respond to the feel of her skin on its surface as usual. Ichigo's face twisted in puzzlement. _What was wrong with it?_

The cat-girl had learnt that nothing in her life was to be taken as a coincidence and this was no exception. She stood, pushing down her nightgown. It complied.

'Well, at least there's one thing that's not playing up,' she murmured to herself. How a nightgown could malfunction was beyond her, but it was three in the morning, so nothing really made sense then.

_Neither does this_, she thought.

She turned just as a bright, silver light flooded the room for a brief moment. In the next second, Ichigo shuddered.

A deep vibration had just ran from her head to her toes. It was not unwelcome, however, and happened to be very pleasant yet quite unsuspected.

Ichigo looked down at herself and her eyes widened in shock.

Around her waist was a beautiful length of cord. It was shining silver in colour and lead attached her to what seemed to be her bed.

Ichigo investigated further. Being on the other side of the room, she couldn't see what it was attached too until she was at the side of it the bed. She approached carefully.

And what she looked down upon was one of the most shocking things she could ever witness.

She was looking down at _her own face_.

At herself, to be precise. Her body was sleeping serenely in her bed, untouched. It looked just like it did whenever she stared at herself in the mirror, only the image was not a reflection and the body present in the bed was apparently in REM.

Ichigo looked at her hands again. She narrowed her eyes at them when she realised that they were glowing slightly. A small radiation, almost undetectable to the naked eye.

The completely befuddled cat-girl moved towards her mirror, determined to find out whether or not her eyes were deceiving her.

But sure enough, it was a lost cause. As Ichigo looked in the mirror, she saw…

Nothing.

There was nothing there. She had no reflection.

Her eyes widened once again.

_What's happening to me?_ She didn't understand anything about this. It was too confusing.

_Why don't I have a reflection? Why are my hands glowing? Why can't I touch stuff? _

_And what's with this damn cord?_

The length of silver rope hadn't dispparated when she moved. In fact, it had grown longer.

Ichigo walked towards her door. Sure enough, the cord lengthened. She went to move the doorknob clockwise, but her hand went straight through it.

'What the-?' She then moved the rest of her body closer to the white-painted wood.

And, abruptly after, she found herself staring into the hallway of the second story of her house.

She turned around sharply. Her door was closed.

Yet she had walked through it as if it was open.

The strawberry shook her head. No, this wasn't happening.

Whatever it was… it wasn't happening!

Despite how many times she told herself this, Ichigo knew that it, in fact, was. This was too real to be a dream…

Please be a dream… please be a dream… 

Ichigo decided after a moment that freaking out wasn't going to solve anything. If anything, she should get back into her room and next to her "body" as soon as possible.

It took only twenty seconds for her to suck up her fear and walk through the closed door again. Whilst doing so, she found herself wondering.

_What if I'm dead? I've died and now I'm a ghost? It would sure explain all of the characteristics… Walking through walls, glowing, and no reflection… _

_It's like an episode of Supernatural! Although I don't see Sam or Dean anywhere._

She didn't notice the stranger until she had taken a couple of steps into her bedroom.

But when she was knocked out her reverie by realising she had walked through the door again, Ichigo received the right of her life when she spotted him.

A serene smile was plastered on his handsome face. His eyes, completely black, stared at him, they were smiling as well, despite their darkness.

When he blinked again, just like before, they reopened as crimson red.

'It's nice to see you again,' he spoke. Ichigo blinked, not believing what she saw in front of her.

_What is he doing here?_

It was a very peculiar place for someone like him to be. The likes of her bedroom seemed to be too informal for him, dressed in the attire he was.

Ichigo paid more attention to his clothes this time, after having already meeting him previously. He was clad in a dark cape, black, like his eyes previously were. Underneath that cape Ichigo could see a faint hint of dark red shirt and long, jet-black pants. The cape, she saw, seemed to be thicker than the pants – leather, perhaps.

'I'm here to give you something. You left it in the dream realm.' He held up the red stone he had left her with previously.

Ichigo couldn't help but blurt out: 'What is it?'

The figure, of which she still hadn't thought up a name for, cocked an eyebrow, 'It's a stone.' Ichigo snorted and rolled her eyes.

'I know that, but what does it do?'

_The Red Knight._

The name suddenly came to her, just like that. The Red Knight. She liked it. It suited him in an odd, coincidental way.

He stood. It took only a moment for him to walk over to her. Once he reached her, he gripped her hands with his own.

Heat flooded through the cat-girl's body. She felt her cheeks radiate with warmth. The white glow she had surrounding her faded into a hot pink. She continued to look into the Red Knight's eyes, mesmerised by the red irises he possessed.

'W-Who are you?' She couldn't help but repeat the question from her dream.

The Red Knight released her hands. When Ichigo reopened them, she found that somehow, he had placed the firestone in it without her noticing. She was most probably too preoccupied to realise.

'I wish I could tell you, _querida_, but trust me when I say your better off not knowing…' He spoke in a whisper, barely audible.

Ichigo frowned at his answer, 'Will you at least tell me what _querida_ means?'

He shot her a look. It was a cross between amused and flirtatious. It was quite alarming to see as he gave off the impression of being completely serious. Ichigo wondered for a brief moment if _querida_ was some rude word in another language.

'I'll give you a hint, it's in a language you human's call "Spanish."' He winked at her.

Ichigo felt her face burn red, even though he was no longer touching her. He took a step back and her cheeks were still flaming.

The Red Knight held out his hand to her. She stared down at it for a brief second of temporary dumbness then, hesitantly, placed her own hand inside of his.

Her fingers were so small compared to his. In fact, her entire hand seemed twice as small as his. He enclosed his figures around hers and she immediately felt a spark of heat fill her body once more. 'Come,' he whispered.

He guided her over to her body. The cord around her waist shrunk.

'Do you know how to get back in there?' He asked. She shook her head.

'No,' was all Ichigo replied with. She was too occupied in her thoughts. Should she be letting him hold her hand? Did he mean anything by it? Did he want to take advantage of her? Was he really trying to help her? What if he was working for the enemy?

Despite her thought pattern, Ichigo decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He did, of course, save her from that shadow person. Or whatever that thing in her dream was.

To be precise, her dream realm. That was what he had said, wasn't it?

'_I'm here to give you something. You left it in the dream realm.'_

Yes. He had definitely said, "dream realm." Ichigo briefly wondered what that meant.

'Do you want me to tell you?' His soft tone bought her out of her daydream.

'Of course,' she replied. She looked up at him right then, noticing that he was at least two heads taller than him. _Wow… _she thought, smiling vaguely…_ he's really tall._

His grip on her hand tightened, but not enough to hurt her. 'I'll show you.'

'O-okay.' Ichigo's face, if possible, grew even warmer. 'What do I have to do?'

He grinned at her, 'Remove the cord from your waist.'

Ichigo blinked, suddenly facing a mental blank. 'How do I do that?' It seemed there was no way to loosen, not to mention remove, the silver rope.

'Let me.' Ichigo stepped back, surprised at the request.

Instead of his hands moving around her hips, he moved towards her sleeping figure. Ichigo watched in fascination as he untied the rope from around the waist of her inert body.

The cord fell to the floor. There was another bright, silvery light. When the strawberry heroine looked down at her waist, there was no longer the length of cord. She blinked up at the Red Knight, perplexed.

'What now?'

Before she could refuse or register what was happening, the Red Knight swept her off her feet. He had one hand behind her head, securing her neck area, and the other underneath her knees. 'A-Ano…' Ichigo began, blinking furiously.

By then, she was sure her face was completely on fire. The backs of her knees and her neck radiated with intensity.

All she could say, as he moved closer to her motionless cadaver, was a high squeak of: 'A-A-Don't drop me!' The Red Knight pulled her over her body, at least a meter above it…

…And then released the grip he had on her.

Ichigo fell.

* * *

The neko-girl received the shock of a lifetime when she woke. It was so sudden, the last thing she remembered was the sense of falling, and of blackness.

Firstly, she looked around, trying to detect the presence of the Red Knight. She had a bone to pick with him. He had released her, not so gracefully, and just dropped her!

The Iriomote growled at the memory. The fall had hurt. Now she received the pain from the injury – a ghastly headache that warped her mind. She grunted in anguish.

The second action she executed was standing, just to make sure she really was in her body. The Wildcat looked down at her hands.

No ghostly glow? Check.

She then stalked over to her mirror. Reflection? Check.

Finally, she turned to her door.

And attempted to walk through it.

Ichigo squealed in pain as her head collided with the wooden surface of her door. She fell back on her butt, hard, and glared at the entrance with russet eyes.

'Inability to walk through doors? Check.' She groaned, her headache increased by the thousands.

The strawberry banged the back of her head against the carpet floor. This action increased her headache by the _millions_.

She scowled to no one in particular.

'I hate furniture.'

Ichigo's alarm clock went haywire moments later.

Her eyes widened, which hit a nerve and a shot of agony blasted through her mind.

'Shit!' She groaned, the day's pre-planned events came to her all at once.

She was late for work – again.

* * *

'You had an out of body experience?' Mint remarked sceptically later that day when Ichigo informed them of her discovery. 'What did you do?'

Ichigo, who had previously buried her face into her arms, which were crossed on the table before her, lifted her head and glared at Mint, 'What do you think I did? I got scared as hell. I thought I was awake until I stared at my bed and found that I was _looking at myself_!'

'Sheesh, no need to direct your anger at me,' Mint responded, slightly taken aback at the mew leader's snappish reply. 'I was only trying to help.'

'_Riiiiiight,_' Ichigo muttered, her tone was full of pent-up sarcasm.

Mint frowned, sending a death glare in the direction of the pink mew, 'What is with you today?' There was a glass cup present in front of her. She picked it up and sipped at the tea inside. A disgusted expression crossed over her face and she sloshed the tea around for a moment before calling: 'Lettuce!'

The poor, clumsy Finless Porpoise came through the threshold of the Café, the same on leading off to the kitchen where she and Zakuro had been washing and drying the dishes.

'Hai?' She replied sweetly, shy voice full of content.

Mint scowled at the third teenager in the room, ignoring Ichigo for the time being to scold Lettuce. 'I asked for tea that was _warm_, not freezing cold!'

Lettuce's face grew red, 'A-Ano, Minto-san, your tea was warm, but you have been yelling at Ichigo-san for so long that it has grown cold.'

The blue-haired adolescent stared at Lettuce, slightly surprised at her friend's boldness. Usually she would just apologise and fill her glass anew.

'Well, just pour me some more.' Mint handed Lettuce her cup and the girl disappeared into the kitchen to bring her friend more tea.

When Lettuce arrived back into the diner to hand Mint her newly filled cup of tea, she looked worriedly over at the depressed Ichigo sitting opposite to the now contented Mint.

'What's wrong, Ichigo-san?' Mint looked up to see that Ichigo had once again slumped in her chair, head _thunked_ onto the desk.

'I couldn't get to sleep last night and when I finally did, I had this dream and then after the dream I woke up and realised that I wasn't in my body for some strange reason,' Ichigo groaned at the caprice of it all.

Lettuce looked thoughtful, 'It sounds like you Astral Projected…' She shrugged at the two then made her way back through the threshold to the kitchen where Zakuro had started to call on her.

'Wait! Lettuce, what's…Astral Projection?' Ichigo asked in all curiosity to the retreating Porpoise. Lettuce turned around to greet her friend again.

She shut her eyes momentarily, trying to think of the best way to go about explaining what the two words meant. 'Basically, it's what you described. Astral Projection is another way of saying you had an OBE. The person's spirit may accidentally or purposely leave the body for a short amount of time while the person is sleeping.

'You may or may not remember if you Astral Project but if you do, it's nothing to be afraid of. Nothing can hurt you in the dimension you roam.' She looked thoughtful again. 'Ichigo, did you have a cord tied around your waist, leading you back to your body?'

Ichigo blinked, surprised at Lettuce's accuracy in explaining to her exactly what she had experienced. 'Hai… It was silver and it led me back to my body. When I tried to untie it, I ended up waking up normal.'

Lettuce nodded, 'You severed the ties between yourself and your real body. To stop yourself from ending up in a coma for the rest of your life, your spirit reacted instantly and you woke up, finding yourself back in your body.'

Mint grimaced at the two girls, annoyance spreading across her features, 'Okay, Let's get this straight. Is there any proof that this wasn't just a dream?'

Ichigo and Lettuce stared at each other. There wasn't, actually, except what she had felt, and either girl didn't have to be telepathic to know what each other was thinking: Mint would definitely not take Ichigo's word for it.

'Thought so,' Mint cooed proudly, taking the girl's silence as a _no_. 'Ichigo just had a rather strange experience in her dreams that is all.'

Something crossed Ichigo's mind. 'No. It was real. I have proof.'

She withdrew the red stone from her pocket.

Before either girl could react at the beauty of the fire-crystal, Pudding bounced into the Café. 'Sorry I'm late, na no da!' She raced into the locker room before any of the three girls could tell her otherwise.

She sprung out a moment later, dressed from head-to-toe in her Café Mew Mew attire.

Lettuce smiled weakly at her, 'A-ano… Pudding-san, the shop has been closed all day.' Mint cocked an eyebrow, obviously amused at the scene. Pudding just grinned back at them.

Nothing else could be said then as Zakuro crossed the threshold into the dining room right then. 'That doesn't mean there's no work to be done. You can come and help me with these dishes if you want, because Lettuce is busy talking to these two.'

Zakuro pointed to Ichigo and Mint. The latter's face burnt bright red yet the former did not respond at all, her head was slumped onto the table again, due to lack of sleep.

Horror spread over the jade-haired waitress' face, 'G-Gomenasai, Zakuro-san!' Lettuce bowed before the Purple Mew. Zakuro shot a smile at the shy girl.

'Nevermind, Lettuce. Pudding's here now, so the job will still be done.' She turned on her heel and left. The Monkey Mew skipped up to Lettuce, still smiling.

'Pudding will help! Pudding will help!' The vibrant young girl then followed the elder Mew into the kitchen adjacent the main hall.

Footsteps came from the laboratory. A moment later, Keiichiro emerged, beaming at the three remaining girls in the room. 'Ichigo, Mint and Lettuce, what a pleasant surprise. Where's Zakuro?'

'Doing the dishes with Pudding,' Lettuce answered his question almost immediately after he had asked it. Like the Neophocaena Phocaenoides had asked the cat-girl previously, Keiichiro's eyes were at the brink with concern.

'Are you alright, Ichigo?' He asked her. Ichigo looked up at him and nodded.

She spoke imperceptibly, 'Yeah, just a little tired.' She thunked her head back down on the table. 'Didn't get much sleep last night,' she added in a mutter.

Keiichiro nodded then moved towards the hallway of which connected the diner with the corridor leading to the basement. At the exact time he left, Zakuro and Pudding came from inside the kitchen.

'Zakuro onee-chan and Pudding are finished, na no da!' She gave the three girls the peace sign before pulling up two chairs for Zakuro and herself to be seated on.

Mint cleared her throat, 'I don't think you are.' She motioned to her teacup sitting on the table before her. Pudding didn't complain, but grabbed the cup and raced for the kitchen again, happy to be working further.

'Hey! Be careful with that! It's real china!' A crash could be heard from out in the dining room. The noise caused Keiichiro to come running back up the stairs.

'What happened?' He asked, troubled by the clamour.

Pudding came through the arch once again, grinning sheepishly. She apologised to Keiichiro. 'Sorry Akasaka onii-sama… Pudding was washing Mint's teacup when it fell and broke. It was an accident, na no da!' Keiichiro smiled back at her.

'That's okay. Did you clean up the mess?' Pudding nodded.

She returned to her seat at the table, then contented herself in asking the other Mew Mews how their day had been.

'Mews, Ryou needs you downstairs,' Keiichiro closed the front door of the Café just as he said this. The five girls had been seated around one of the red and white tables, still in their waitress outfits.

Eventually, after further coaxing on Keiichiro's part in motivating the tired girls to make their way down to the laboratory, all five Mews were staring at the large, black screen of which Ryou Shirogane was standing before.

'What did you call us down here for, Ryou onii-chan?' Pudding asked gleefully. Keiichiro entered the lab right then and answered Pudding's question.

He said, 'We have something to show you.' Ryou moved towards a desk before him. He picked up a small, rectangular object, black, and pressed what seemed to be a button on the control.

The screen behind him whirled to life. At first, it looked like the desktop of a computer, DELL branded, Ichigo noticed, like hers. In the next few seconds, the white pointer that was the mouse moved across the screen at phenomenal speed to a folder entitled _Archaeology_, which bought up a range of subfolders.

Some of these subfolders had numbers for titles, others words that had no specific meaning. Ryou, whom Ichigo was convinced was controlling the machine, double clicked on the one entitled, "22.5.06."

Instead of further subfolders, various .jpg, .gif and .bmp images became present on the screen. The thumbnails were too small to decipher what the pictures actually were of, but, as the original folder had described, Ichigo had a hunch it was something to do with the ruins Ryou's father and Keiichiro had found five years ago.

Her hunch was proved to be wrong in one aspect. Ryou cleared his throat, 'This tablet was found in Giza, Egypt, less than a week ago.' The mouse made its way to the first picture.

With a double click, a blown up image of the thumbnail Ichigo had seen filled up the screen. The Mew's stared in wonder, gasping in unity.

The tablet Ryou referred to was absolutely beautiful. A dark grey, it was worn and almost split into two slabs of rock, yet the aged appearance only made it more stunning.

There was writing carved into the middle of the stone. It was in a language Ichigo was sure none of them understood. The carvings looked like nothing she had ever seen before.

Surrounding the text were deeply ridged cuts embedded into the grey surface. They incised further into the plaque than the words, giving them a darker impress.

The cuts were curved, some of them were exaggerated waves with four, maybe five different semi-circles all bound into a grey water upshot. The effect was striking.

The mouse moved down the screen as the Mews were studying the image, and pressed on a forward arrow. The picture changed.

Ichigo assumed it showed the back of the stone. There were no more words present on the back, yet the deeper cuts continued, in different patterns this time.

Ryou didn't waste much time in showing them this one. He pressed the arrow key once more. The third picture was exactly the same as the second, yet parts of the architecture of the stone were circled and highlighted.

One was highlighted pink, blue, green, yellow and finally, purple. It hit Ichigo hard as she began to recognise some of the symbols in the stone.

The symbols were theirs. Ichigo could see her heart symbol, Mint's winged symbol, Lettuce's dolphin symbol, Pudding's similarly heart-shaped symbol and Zakuro's wolf symbol. Each was highlighted in the girl's corresponding colours.

Pink for Ichigo, Blue for Mint, Green for Lettuce, Yellow-Orange for Pudding and Purple for Zakuro.

However, there was another outlandish symbol highlighted. This one was circled in red, and it looked similar to Mint's with the wings.

On the contrary, these wings were larger and in the middle, where the two beginnings of the wings met, was what seemed to be a diamond. It was the same burgundy as the rest of the symbol.

'Whose symbol is that, na no da?' Pudding asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

Keiichiro shook his head. 'We have no idea. We haven't yet been able to find someone who can translate the text, but Ryou recognised one of the words in the passage on the front of the tablet.'

'I'm not sure if it really has any association to the symbol, it's just a hunch, but I'm convinced that whoever the symbol is related to could be the second most important weapon we have against the enemy. The first, of course, being Tokyo Mew Mew.' Ryou smirked at the girls, who glared at him for calling them _weapons_.

He continued. 'They could very well be even more powerful than you all combined. It is of the utmost importance that we find whomever this mark belongs to. If the enemy finds them before we do, it could spell destruction of our planet.'

The mouse moved, once again, towards the forward button. This next image was of one of the words in the strange writing. It was highlighted in red, as was the unknown symbol.

'So what does it say?' Zakuro asked, again voicing another question all the Mews wanted answering. Keiichiro and Ryou looked at each other for a moment then averted their gazes back to the curious supergirls.

Ryou began slowly. 'It says…' He stared at the word in the foreign language, somewhat sceptically, as if he didn't believe it said what he thought it did.

'Harcesis.'

* * *

**End Note:** OMG. TOO SHORT. I'm going to have to update super-fast now -groans-… I've already finished 1/4 of chapter five, so stay tuned for it soon.

Again, hobo-fied - Spare a review?

Love,  
exangeline


	5. Bullfighter

**Disclaimer:** Do you really think I would be writing fanfiction about Tokyo Mew Mew if I owned it, nya?

**Note:** Yay! New update! I know I told you guys that this would be updated sooner and that I had gotten a quarter of it done when writing chapter four but writing the rest of the chapter and keeping the characters from straying into complete OOC-ness proved to be difficult. As you can probably guess – yes, this chapter has Masaya in it. A lot of Masaya.

Lyrics by_ Chayanne_.

* * *

Chapter o5 – Bullfighter

_Si hay que ser torero  
Poner el alma en el ruedo  
No importa lo que si venga  
Pa que sepas que ti quiero_

Ichigo gasped, eyes wide. She felt like she was going to faint.

Before anyone else could react to her strange behaviour, she turned on her heel and bolted out of the room, up the stairs of the basement and into the lavatory, where she sat in one of the cubicles and shut the door behind her.

In a single, swift moment, she withdrew her iPod out of her pocket and switched it on, as she did quite often when in shock.

Sharon den Adel belted out the lyrics to the Within Temptation song: _Angels_. Listening to music seemed to be Ichigo's way of centering herself. She shut her eyes and was lost in the song, all the while thinking of the recent discovery.

The mysterious figure in her dream/astral projection came to mind. She had since then labeled him "The Red Knight" and planned to keep it that way. He had said he knew whom the Blue Knight was and that they were good friends, so the name had just stuck.

On instinct, she fingered the red stone present in the pocket of her waitress attire. It grew hot in her hands. She was reminded of the heat she had felt in the dream, if it was a dream…

_He bowed his head down to her. His proximity bought heat, like the flames of a fire. 'I only know what you know. I am not the Harcesis. But I am someone you know well.'_

_Ichigo's eyes quivered, her entire body trembled. 'It's your duty, _querida_, to find the Harcesis child. Aid him, and you will be safe.'_

'_Wha-What's a _querida_? And whose the Harcesis?' She had so many questions; this man seemed so wise, yet he said he only knew what she knew._

'_There are many people out there trying to harm you and the Harcesis. Yet there are many more who wish to protect you. I am one of them.' His elvan ears twitched quite endearingly when he talked, she noticed, as his face was close enough for her to think that._

By the time she had finished reminiscing, the song was over. Disturbed threatened to take over Within Temptation's role in calming her, but she shut the device down before the song _Decadence_ could start.

'Gotta get myself together, ay?' She whispered to herself. 'I've gotta be strong. I've had it much worse before…' Her mind briefly replayed the time her precious Aoyama-kun was struck down by excess Mew Aqua. That had been one of the most terrifying times of her life. The thought of loosing him…

Ichigo grinned at her silliness. 'Gawd, I'm in deep!' Her lover made her momentarily forget the shock and mystery of the Harcesis. The cat-girl then sighed and stood, arching her body until she could hear the crack of her backbone sound through the empty cubicle.

Slowly and carefully, as to not arouse any looming suspicion, Ichigo made her way out of the toilets. It was late, she wanted out. She didn't care if she had to sneak home in her Café Mew Mew uniform; she wasn't going to be asked any more questions.

Unfortunately, luck seemed to abscond her at that moment because just as she was following her escape route, she saw the other members of Tokyo Mew Mew guarding the door. Shirogane and Akasaka were also there with them.

Ichigo slapped her forehead. Great. She was going to have to deal with them.

The cat-girl grimaced and tried to make her way around them. 'Ichigo-san,' Lettuce began quietly, 'What's wrong?'

Before Ichigo could reply with some random outburst, however, there was a knock on the Café doors. Keiichiro went to go see who it was right then.

There was an awkward silence among the crowd of people until Keiichiro returned, another figure following behind. As soon as Ichigo saw who it was, she inwardly jumped for joy.

'Aoyama-kun!' She squealed in bliss, running over to him with a huge beam on her face and, upon reaching him, squeezed the living daylights out of him.

Masaya, being the perfect boyfriend he was, however, showed no indication of pain. He smiled down at his girlfriend, 'I was coming home from Kendo practice and I decided to stop by. Did you want to walk home with me, Ichigo?'

Ichigo grinned, unable to refuse the perfect package that was Masaya. She hugged him once again and nodded, 'Hai!' In complete and utter joy she ran into the locker room, stripped off her Café Mew Mew attire and redressed in a pink halter-neck, a pair of jeans with a black skirt overlaid. It had a slit at the side, as it was the latest fashion. Ichigo also slipped her feet into her trusty, ancient vans.

The Mew's watched in amusement and awe as Ichigo emerged from the locker room, looking completely awesome, and raced over to her boyfriend, apparently forgetting everything that had occurred that day. She was, once again, grinning from ear to ear.

Lettuce smiled wirily, she was happy when her friends were happy but upon hearing the word '_Harcesis'_ she had remembered the Pink Mew's shock. It disturbed her slightly.

Zakuro watched Lettuce stare at Ichigo, her eyes narrowed, the girl was too trusting and contented by her friend's happiness for her own good. She needed to get out more and have some experiences of her own… The purple Mew shrugged her thoughts off and continued to watch the scene.

'Byebye!' Ichigo called to her friends. She linked arms with Masaya and waved happily. Pudding smiled, admiring her onee-chan's contentment. She briefly wondered if she would ever be as close to Taruto as Ichigo onee-chan was with Aoyama onii-chan.

Ryou called to Ichigo, as she was leaving, 'We'll finish this conversation tomorrow.' Ichigo, still too blinded by happiness, just nodded dumbly, not even hearing Ryou's words.

Huh, she thought as she opened the large entrance doors of Café Mew Mew, _what did Shirogane say again?_ Masaya looked down at her, admiration in his eyes, _oh who cares, as long as I'm with Aoyama-kun, I don't care!_

Eventually, as Masaya and Ichigo were strolling down the paths of Tokyo, their hands became intertwined. Ichigo felt a small, pink blush for across her face.

Upon seeing this, Masaya laughed. Ichigo looked at him and the blush got bigger.

_Oh no,_ she thought, mentally kicking herself, _he's laughing at me… I must have done something totally ditzy again…_

'You're so cute, Ichigo.' With his free hand, he fingered the small, gold bell around Ichigo's neck. 'You know you're my kitten, right?'

_You know you're my kitten…_

…_my kitten…_

…_Koneko…_

…_Koneko-chan!_

Ichigo jumped and released her hands from Masaya's. Her boyfriend looked at her quizzically as she looked in every direction, under every bush and up every tree. 'Kisshu!' She whispered, 'Where are you? I know you're here!'

'What are you looking for, Ichigo?' Masaya asked, eyebrow rose. Ichigo laughed nervously. In her mind, she chastised herself again and again, _what's wrong with me? Why did I suddenly hear Kisshu's voice in my head? Was it real, or was I hallucinating?_

Masaya waved a hand in front of the confused cat-girl's face. Ichigo blinked, falling out of her train of thought and watching it slowly chug away.

She felt her sanity was leaving her, like water in a tap. She could hear it, even now.

Drip… drop… drip… drop… 

'H-hai!' The Iriomote watched Masaya's face change. It morphed from concerned to confused to amused then to…

…hysterical laughter?

Yes, Masaya was indeed laughing at Ichigo. He clutched his stomach as he laughed, almost choking from the attempt to stand straight. Ichigo just watched him, noting how good his face looked when he was smiling like that.

_I always want to make him smile…_ She found herself thinking, _forever and ever…_

'You…Are…So…Funny…' Masaya managed to get out through his laughter. It was deep and handsome, just like he was, with a hint of mystery… just like a cherry on top of Café Mew Mew's finest. Ichigo grinned at the sudden train of thought.

_This one is definitely welcome in my station,_ Ichigo loved to use metaphors.

After Masaya got over his laughing fit, of which Ichigo had started laughing with him, but not as far gone as he was, both girl and boy got over it and began to walk again.

A thoughtful look came over Ichigo's amour's face. She watched him thoroughly. He smiled down at her once more, gripping his bag more tightly in his left hand.

He motioned for her to follow him and, without further ado, took her hand in his and began to run across the street.

He didn't bother to look for cars, as it was not a main road and not many people came by it. He led Ichigo through another few side streets before they came to an intersection. The boy swerved left. Ichigo followed blindly.

'This way!' He said, grinning. Ichigo beamed back at him and caught up, running with newfound interest.

'Where are we going?' She asked him. Masaya just kept smiling.

He replied, 'It's a surprise.' Ichigo nodded, loving surprises as much as she loved Masaya and using metaphors to express her love for him.

'Okay,' she said, and they began to run faster.

A beautiful sight met her eyes. It was a long, thin path of stones, surrounded by trees and grass and flowers flanked on either side of the trail. It was completely mesmerizing.

Ichigo's vision then was flooded by the looming presence of fire. Fire erupted from everywhere, on every surface…

Her mind replayed the events.

_Flames…_

_Dizziness… _

_Figure…_

_Darkness…_

_Crimson Tears…_

_Embrace…_

_Escape…_

_Firewall…_

_Chase…_

_Shadow…_

_Rescuer…_

_Phoenix…_

_Wings…_

_Red Knight…_

_Unconsciousness…_

_HARCESIS…_

She rioted out of her reverie at an extreme speed, glad for the distraction when Masaya began to explain the importance of the sight. She hardly heard him.

Ichigo tried to take in everything surrounding her. It was all so beautiful to be a place of such agony. She remembered the look on his face, when he…

The cat-girl screwed up her face, rejecting the memories of her dream – no, nightmare. Her expression became pained. She did, however, change it, before Masaya saw.

'Aoyama-kun?' The raven-haired boy looked down at her, adoration in his brown eyes. He looked at her as if to await her question.

The Mew kind of just blurted it out, 'Do you know anyone called Harcesis?' She felt stupid the moment she asked the question. _Of course Aoyama-kun wouldn't know who Harcesis was…_

To her complete and utter shock, he replied with: 'Yes. I know someone with a surname Harcesis, their a quite good friend of mine…'

'What's his or her full name?' Ichigo asked, eyes wide.

Masaya smiled, 'Her name is Jessika Harcesis and she comes from Antarctica.'

Ichigo looked skeptically at him, 'Can anyone actually come from Antarctica?' Masaya nodded, laughing a little.

'Her parents do ice core research at an American Ice Station, McMurdo, I think it's called,' Ichigo nodded as well, remembering that she heard the name before. She had never, however, heard of someone with such a name. Jessika Harcesis. It sounded nice, actually.

She was getting strung up in the conversation, 'Where did you meet her?'

Masaya looked down at her, 'Her dad is my mum's friend. We're nothing but friends, though.' Ichigo nodded, smiling. Masaya squeezed her hand, which was still caught in his.

'Why are you so interested in her, anyway?' Masaya asked, eyebrow raised curiously. Ichigo flushed and managed to murmur back.

'I would like to meet her, actually…' She paused, 'Do you think you could arrange a meeting, Aoyama-kun?' The brown-eyed love of Ichigo's life beamed at her.

'Of course,' He said, nodding. He thought for a moment and added, 'May I ask why?'

Ichigo, alarmed, tried to find a quick reason. She managed to blurt out:

'Oh. My friend has heard of her and I thought – why not try to ask around, see if anyone knows her.' Ichigo prayed that her excuse worked.

It did. Masaya smiled at her once again and nodded. Ichigo's blush grew larger across her face. She didn't like lying to Aoyama-kun, but it always seemed necessary.

Gold eyes watched the two.

_So,_ Keishu, agent of Amorphous thought, _she wants to find the Harcesis?_

'Wait until I'm done with him, _morena chica_, then you'll never want to see him again.'

* * *

After seeing the sight, Masaya took Ichigo home. They forgot all about the talk of Jessika Harcesis, Ice Stations, History of Paths and anything to do with what they had just discussed. Instead, they talked like a normal boyfriend and girlfriend would.

Masaya asked her a question, 'Ichigo, what do you want for your future?'

Ichigo smiled, musing to herself, 'Well,' she began, thinking intensely, 'I definitely want to go to college, maybe travel and study abroad in some awesome place like England or Australia. I've always wanted to visit an English country. I'd like to get married someday, too, have a successful career in something like fashion designing or taking care of animals or even owning my own cake shop, like Café Mew Mew.'

She went on, loosing touch of reality as well as where she was going, 'I could always picture a boy and two girls. The dad would look after the boy, whenever I took the girls shopping, or whenever the girls were busy being girls. And sometimes my husband would take the girls out, and I'd hang out with my son. Teach him kickboxing or play video games with him.'

Masaya grinned, 'What about their professions?'

Ichigo thought for a moment, then it all came to her, 'I'm not too sure, really. I'd let them be whatever they want to be. But I could picture my boy doing something that made him really rich. He'd buy an awesome house in England or Europe somewhere and fall in love with a beautiful woman who loved him the instant she saw him, and vice versa. His sisters, albeit teasing him continuously, would love him for going all gooey and girly.'

The sun shone in Ichigo's eyes. The wind tugged at her hair as she continued, it was as if nature were listening to every word she spoke.

'My eldest would be called Kataya. She'd be an awesome fashion designer or a chef, and go to a lot of dinner parties or fashion shows and meet such an urbane young man. He'd fall in love with her designs and ask her if she wanted them to be a big hit.

'But just to make sure she wasn't getting her mother to do them, he'd cheekily ask her to make a dress for a dance of which he would take her out. And because she'd be such a character, and she'd be stubborn and strong, she'd take the challenge and create the most splendid dress ever.

'He'd have one condition; he'd have to visit her house to watch her make it. Eventually they'd make the dress together, go to the dance and fall in love and run away to some exotic island like Hawaii or Indonesia.'

Ichigo grinned as the rest came to her, as if it had been locked away in the corner of her mind. But, she didn't realise it then, her dreams came to a different intersection.

'My youngest, I'd call her Connie, would be a fun loving, beautiful actress, who would be totally devoted to her daddy. He'd teach her things about his culture, which is very, very different to ours.

'He'd take her to amazing places with her sister and her brother, of whom she'd annoy but secretly admirer. They'd sort of tease her, too, but they'd also love her very much.

'She'd be so famous with her career that she'd meet a young man, who also has a knack for acting. She'd enroll for a part in a romantic act, like Romeo and Juliet, and the same young man would end up playing Romeo to her Juliet.

'But the play would be altered, so instead of them dying, they'd have ever lasting love. The story ends up coming true. Connie would end up falling for him and he for her. They would end up getting married and move to one of the awesome places her Dad once showed her. Or we would all live together in a huge mansion. Sorta like Mint has…'

Masaya cocked an eyebrow in her direction, 'So Ichigo-san is a great, big romantic?' Ichigo blushed again, smiling even more.

'Yeah, I guess so. But the future just sounds so exiting to me! There is so many possibilities.' She said, feeling quite high.

_I mean, why shouldn't I?_ She found herself thinking, _I'm here, with Aoyama-kun, in love, and realizing what I want to do with my life. How is that not good?_

The object of her desire smiled down at her for what seemed to be the millionth time, 'Yeah. There are a lot of possibilities out there…' He trailed off, thinking.

By that time, Ichigo and Masaya had ended up in Ichigo's neighborhood. They walked in a comfortable silence for another few minutes before they reached the front of Ichigo's house.

Masaya embraced her and Ichigo felt her knees go weak. She clutched onto his shirt and breathed in the aroma that was Aoyama-kun.

Just as they broke apart and Ichigo was going to open her front gate, Masaya called her name. She spun.

He looked so gorgeous there, figure bathed with sunlight. Ichigo was lost in the moment for a second there but soon regained her composure, 'Hai?' She asked, beaming at him.

Masaya grinned back, 'Are you doing anything this weekend?'

Ichigo shook her head, 'A-ano… No.'

'Well, There's this new amusement park opening in -' He began.

The cat-girl made her decision right then. It was a completely easy choice. Ichigo interrupted, smirking shyly with another famous blush forming across her cheeks, 'I'd love to go with you.'

Masaya nodded and, in one swift moment, laid a small peck on her lips. Then he left.

Ichigo entered her house in a daze; she did everything she was supposed to upon entering her home, said hello to her parents, placed her shoes near the door, took out a glass of milk then entered her room.

Upon closing her door, Ichigo grinned. She cheered, 'Yeah! Aoyama-kun kissed me!' She did a strange little dance, involving swishing her newly emerged cat-tail and plunging her fists into the air while spinning around and laughing.

Eventually, she fell onto her pink doona, still smiling.

And, promptly after, erupted into giggles.

* * *

**End Note:** Okay, guys. Forgive its shortness but I am TOTALLY not good at writing Masaya scenes. I have to make him sound so cheery and sweet and emphasis Ichigo's love for him, and that's kinda hard considering I'm a KishxIchigo fan.

Sorry 'bout the lyrics, as well. They're in Spanish, by the way. I'll give ya the translation because I love you all so much:

_Bullfighter, put your soul in danger  
I'll risk my life for you  
What ever happens  
So you know that I love you_

Btw, this time, I am completely and utterly telling the truth - o6 will be up waaaaay soon. I'm almost finished it and there is no Masaya (that I know of)so I wont have any difficulties with OOCness, ne?

Exie – Out! (Note: Plz review... tell meif everyone is in character, if you could be bothered I know I cant...lol)

Love,  
exangeline


	6. Memories

**Disclaimer:** Pfft. Don't rub it in.

**Note:** Wow. Plot progression. Review progression too… thanks guys! I've been so caught up in updating that I haven't included the review replies. I didn't think you peeps minded, but if you do, please tell me and I'll upload my replies to your previous reviews.

Woop - This chapter is dedicated to Lachelle (MewSphinx) for becoming my BETA and commenting on my fics We're TMM addicts... Lol. I told you guys I'd get this up fast (to repay for the short chapter last time... but this one is short too -.-) so I did!

But with that out of the way, please enjoy chapter six. (This one has more Kisshu in it! )

Lyrics by _Within Temptation._

* * *

Chapter o6 – Memories

_All of my memories keep you near.  
In silent moments,  
Imagine you'd be here.  
All of my memories keep you near,  
Your silent whispers, silent tears_

Carmen grimaced, 'This is excruciatingly boring, you know?' Ichigo nodded, forced to agree. They had been sitting on the porch of the Momomiya-Cortex home for over three hours, listening to their parents talk about "the old days." It was sickening.

Her seventeen-year-old cousin stood right then. He grinned down at her, 'Hey, do you remember that park that we used to always visit with our parents?'

Ichigo smiled back and nodded. The Kanata National Park (**an:** Made-up name) had been quite the venue for old childhood memories, as well as picnics with the family.

'What's your point, Remmy?' Ichigo stood then as well. She brushed her loose hair back with both hands and untied the ribbon from her wrist, then retied the black material into her hair as a loose, single auburn tress.

The cat-girl followed Carmen across the porch and into the house. He called to his parents, as well as Ichigo, 'Hey, Mom! Dad! Uncle Shintaro, Aunt Sakura! I'm takin' Ichigo to Kanata.'

'Okay honey,' was the reply from outside on the porch. Apparently the folks were too busy talking amongst themselves to even notice the content of Carmen's explanation.

He turned back to her, 'Come on, Shego, lets jet.' Shego was Ichigo's nickname according to Carmen. Carm or Remmy was Carmen's name according to Ichigo. It was a childhood thing that neither girl nor boy could let go of.

'Let me get my coat!' Ichigo said quickly. A single, russet eyebrow arose further up Carmen's forehead. He looked at her sceptically.

'The one you're wearing?' Ichigo felt her face heat up. She didn't even notice she had been wearing it. The secret heroine sweat dropped.

She giggled. 'Right.'

Carmen just laughed with her, 'You're so silly sometimes, Shego. _Now_ can we go?'

Ichigo nodded, 'Lets.'

* * *

Both Ichigo and Carmen made their way towards Kanata Park. It took at least ten minutes for them to arrive by foot. 

'The scenery is so different now,' Ichigo remarked, breathing in the crisp night air, as it was almost six o'clock. Carmen grinned at her.

'Well, we used to watch it out of the window of our old Holden, so of course it would be different.' Ichigo chuckled, nodding in agreement.

She looked over at her cousin. He had grown so much since she had last seen him. His eyes were unlike anything she had ever seen. A jade green, as beautiful as emeralds. This was peculiar, as neither his mother nor father had green eyes. Carmen told her that it came from his great-grandfather on the Cortex side, of which Ichigo was not related to.

He bore the same texture of coffee coloured hair as the Iriomote did, his skin was slightly more tanned than hers as he got out a lot more (he didn't work at Café Mew Mew so he actually had _time_ to go outside) and his figure was well, built.

If he weren't her cousin, Ichigo would have found him as attractive as Kisshu.

The cat-girl gasped and stopped in her tracks.

_What the hell?_ She froze, revisiting her thoughts; _I didn't just call KISSHU attractive, did I? Well, even if I did, I meant Aoyama-kun._

_Yeah, if Remmy weren't my cousin I would have found him as attractive as Aoyama-kun._

Yet even then, she found herself wanting to replace the name of her lover with the name of her archenemy.

Ichigo kept walking, as if it had never affected her. Carmen raised both eyebrows but said nothing to her, only followed behind.

The rest of the walk to Kanata was in silence. A long, awkward silence. It was as if Ichigo had just announced that Café Mew was a cover-up for a strip club or something…

The sudden mental visage of Ryou in fishnet stockings and handcuffs almost made the teen have a heart attack.

A moment later, they arrived at the park.

Kanata was just as beautiful as Ichigo remembered it to be. Grass as green as ever, sky, a parched light blue, flowers and wildlife positively _radiant_ with colour.

Ichigo was completely mesmerised by the sight, having not seen it for approximately five years. Carmen, however, gazed at the sight indifferently – like he saw it every day. Considering how easy it was to reach the park from the Cortex house, he probably did.

'Nice, isn't it?' He remarked, smiling lightly at the sight. Just seeing the amazing texture of the park and hearing the natural sounds emitted from the scene made Ichigo feel completely in tune with the world and herself.

The two walked down the path together, previous awkwardness forgotten. Carmen took the lead, explaining everything and anything about the park. _It brings back so many memories,_ Ichigo thought serenely to herself.

Carmen turned around as they walked the length of the parchment-tinted footpath, so he was walking backwards. 'Remember the playground with the swings that was here, and ho I always used to push you?'

Ichigo grinned at him, 'And you always complained when I wasn't strong enough to push you.' She poked his side, 'Tubby.'

The neko-girl and her cousin continued to tease each other until a familiar voice sounded above them, 'Well isn't that sweet, a family reunion.'

Carmen tried to locate the source of the voice, 'What the hell? Who said that?' Before he could locate the source of the voice, he was knocked out swiftly by the two floating figures present in the heart of Kanata Park.

'Who do we have here?' Ichigo glared at Pai as he said this. Taruto was at his side, one eyebrow cocked and a devious smirk on his young, alien face.

'Just what I need,' The heroine rolled her eyes at the two, 'My own personal antichrists… what have I done this time?' She held her hands up in mock surrender.

Taruto snickered 'It's more of the fact that you exist, Mew scum, nothing personal.'

Ichigo raised her own eyebrows. 'Such big words for someone so small.' She smirked to herself, proud of her affect on the younger alien – an outburst.

'Tart, we have no time to play games.' Pai stared coldly down at the pink Mew, who was still in humanoid form. His yellow and red fan appeared in his arm-warmer (**random an:** I WANT HIS ARMWARMERS!) clad hands a moment later.

'FUU RAY SEN!' He bellowed, and teleported in front of Ichigo for a close-range attack.

Ichigo honestly did not expect it. She thought they would release a chimera animal or at least gloat some more, but Pai seemed bent on cutting her into pieces.

Or, at least, that's what it seemed like he intended to do. If the deep gash now present in her side was indication enough.

Still not transformed, Ichigo did not have the agility; speed or energy to dodge the sharp, clean cut the lethal fan made through the air. It had connected with the right side of her waist.

The two aliens had already gained the element of surprised. However, when the alien male came in for another serious blow, Ichigo managed to isolate herself from them long enough to press the distress signal on her pendant and transform.

Iriomote Wildcat merged, Ichigo stepped out of the bushes in her Mew form. Black cat ears and tail and kawaii pink uniform present, as usual.

Taruto held an oh-so-familiar translucent jellyfish like creature in his child hands. 'Go Chimera Anima!' He released the jellyfish.

It fell to the ground and infused itself with a lizard on the concrete. The lizard began to grow rapidly.

'Crap!' Mew Ichigo swore underneath he breath.

The Chimera Animal was big, green and ugly as hell. Ichigo swore repeatedly as she dodged it's now colossal sharp claws and supermassive body slams.

Pai and Taruto just watched in amusement as Ichigo braved her way through, yet so preoccupied with dodging, no attacks were made.

'Ribbon Puddingring Inferno!' The unmistakeable cry of Pudding's attack bought hope into the cat-girls heart.

The attack held for at least ten seconds before the lizard broke free. Yet this was more than enough time for Ichigo to find her way to her friends.

'For Earth's future, we will be of service nya!' The five Shoju team members belted out the motto in union.

Mew Zakuro placed her hands on her hips, 'Alas, where's the third member of the three stooges?' Mew Mint snorted at her elders joke.

Ichigo noticed the absence of the familiar green-haired alien then and there. She was vaguely relieved that she didn't have to face him after all that had gone on that week…

But for some peculiar reason, the Mew leader felt rather dissapointed as well.

The Tokyo Mew team continued to fight the Chimera Anima and won. Ichigo didn't put her heart into her fighting.

It wasn't because her side was hurting, despite contrary belief, but because she found herself missing Kisshu.

A lot more than she was supposed to.

* * *

The said amber-eyed alien was contentedly lying on his mattress of a bed, staring at the ceiling. 

Actually, that's not true. He wasn't particularly contented. It was quite boring, actually. But considering the alternate was teleporting down to Earth and facing someone of whom he adored yet who completely detested him in return, Kisshu would rather just stick with staring at the roof.

When Tart and Pai reboarded the ship an hour later, Kish had moved to the kitchen area, where he sipped at an Iced Mocha.

Tart glared at him as they entered the room, 'I don't know why you enjoy those Earth drinks so much, Kisshu.' Kish just rolled his eyes. Pai said nothing.

'So,' Kish began, attempting conversation after seven seconds of silence, 'Did you get what you want?' Pai simply bowed his head somewhat, which signalled "yes."

'We have acquired a sample of Momomiya Ichigo's blood. We're hoping it will have the same effect as our blood does on the mind. You will be needed in the laboratory shortly.' He paused. 'Come, Taruto.' The two aliens left.

Kisshu slumped his head on the table.

_Why did he have a VERY bad feeling about this?_

* * *

(**an:** BTW, Kish and his kind are not vampires, although I have the strong urge to make them vampires 'cos vampires are really cool…) 

Kisshu walked silently into the laboratory approximately a half an hour later, as Pai had gotten Tart to teleport and remind him about the transfusion.

The small alien followed Kish into the spacious, technologically advanced lab. It was cylindrical, coloured a metallic grey and with many alien devices present. In the middle, however, was the universal seating pleasure – a chair.

It looked like an orthodontic chair, it was also silver in shade and had a retractable light fixated on the top of it. It branched up and over the headrest so the light shone into the patient's eyes, thus enabling the doctor to see correctly.

He shuddered at the sight of the chair. Most of Kish's worst memories had happened in a chair similar to this. He wasn't at liberty to recollect, however, as Pai had given him a job to do.

'Please be seated,' Pai was clad in a medical coat, a light lavender colour, and had a strange looking device in his hand. It was triangular; a tube ran from one side of the triangle to the next and to the one after that.

One of the tubes had a blue liquid in it, the other two were clear. Pai took out a syringe like needle and placed it in another tube. The tube filled red. Kish knew that this solution, newly imported into the device, was Ichigo's blood.

Pai asked Kisshu to hold out his right hand. Kish complied, screwing up his face and awaiting the pain. Once the triangle, just bigger than his palm, came in contact with Kish's pallid skin, two prongs came out of the side of the tube that had no liquid in it and plunged the prongs _into Kisshu's open hand_.

He grunted in pain. It wasn't pleasant. It felt like someone had slit his wrists. Pai observed his behavior. He pressed a hand to Kish's head just as the blue liquid was released from the left side, into the clear tube, and thus – into Kish's bloodstream.

Pai looked on pragmatically. _His core temperature is decreasing,_ he came to this conclusion. _He will feel no more pain…_

Then, the red liquid – Ichigo's blood – was released.

Pai kept his hand on Kisshu's forehead for another three seconds, then let go of the younger alien. Tart watched all this with wide eyes – it was the first time he had seen a transfusion being imported in such way.

'Feel anything?' The eldest alien asked. Kisshu grunted and shook his head. No.

Pai thought for a moment before asking his next question, 'See anything?'

Kish was about to respond with a "no" when suddenly, yet gradually, the room began to fill with fog.

'Yes.' He whispered. Pai nodded. He moved towards a small desk, he removed a small device, no bigger than his thumb.

Meanwhile, images flashed through Kisshu's mind. They had no significant meaning to him right then. But he was sure they had meaning to Ichigo.

Then the images began to familiarize. Pai placed the contrivance against Kish's left temple. After a slightly obnoxious beep, the apparatus was active.

The eldest alien brought up a screen. At first it was inactive, but when the circular object on Kish's temple shone with a small dot of red, the screen filled with a sheen of white.

An image was present on the screen. It was in the point of view of someone watching a fight between the Mews and the Aliens.

The person screamed out 'Strawberry Bell!' and it was revealed that the person was Mew Ichigo. It was the fight against Pai and Taruto just after the acquired the blood.

'Focus,' Pai urged and Kish did so. The images changed.

They were in a basement of some sorts; it was dark, too dark for his liking. But a large screen was present behind the blonde haired human, Shirogane, he was called.

Tokyo Mew Mew was present in the basement. They talked amongst each other and Shirogane began to operate a human computer. A picture appeared on the screen. It looked like a tablet, with ancient carvings like the ruins on Lithea in Madrona.

'Hold on, Kisshu, keep that image.' Pai took out what seemed to be an alien camera and pressed a button. There was no flash yet an image appeared above the machine like a hologram.

Kish, influenced by the memories, began to speak, '_I was able to decipher a word on the tablet. It says…_'

A pause, '_Harcesis_.'

It was Shirogane's voice, speaking of how he found the tablet and recognized one of the words on it from his father's research.

'Harcesis?' Pai repeated, turning to the drugged figure on the chair. 'Does this name have any meaning?'

Kish began to speak again, '_This Harcesis may be the second best defense we have against the enemy, the first, of course, being Tokyo mew Mew_.'

The images changed again. _She must be remembering something…_

Flames covered every surface. Ichigo stood, watching in shock as they devoured everything. She spun and, after reaching her original spot, gasped.

A figure approached her and Pai's eyes narrowed. _This_ _must be what the humans call dream,_ he thought. _And in Momomiya Ichigo's dream was…_

Kisshu.

It played out exactly the same. Kish had mixed feelings about the dream, especially the mentions to the Harcesis.

He had told no on but Eustachia about the Harcesis, and personally he saw it fit to keep it that way.

Something troubled him. _Ichigo was acting nice… like she actually cared… and she followed me…_

Pai should have collected more blood; he registered, when the picture began to fade. Prying himself out of the chair, Kish removed the triangle from his hand. As he took out the prongs, he felt his legs come out from underneath him.

Large, strong arms were secured under his knees and neck. He turned; tired amber eyes staring into Eustachia's blue ones.

She smiled, 'Ah, Kisshu-Kisshu, don't worry, I'll be here to catch you when you fall.' She released him, yet stayed in the lab. 'Come with, I want to show you something.'

'Yes?' Kish asked as he entered the infirmary adjacent to the lab.

Eustachia motioned for him to follow. She guided him to a health detector.

'I'm afraid this news is not good,' He looked into her clear; blue eyes and narrowed his own amber ones in suspicion.

'You remember the full body analyses after you were chosen for the mission to Earth?' She clicked a button on the detector. It bought up a hologram of what seemed to be a blood sample.

'This is a result from that analysis. You have a high white blood cell count, which, as you know, is usual for our kind to have.'

'But…' She paused for effect and pressed another button – it was another blood sample. This one was slightly different. 'This is from the analysis taken after you came back from your latest mission.' She looked down at him woefully.

'The white blood cell count is dangerously low and you have an unknown toxin circulating your bloodstream system. I have not been able to find out what it is yet but no one else on this ship has the contaminant.'

She glanced at him for a long moment then averted her gaze to the screen. Her blue eyes were clouded over with worry.

'You have a virus unlike anything seen on Madrona AND Earth. I'm sorry, Kish, but until we can figure out how to cure it, or even what it is, I have no other choice.'

She cleared her throat, 'Kisshu Haikari. You, and this base, is on _lockdown_.'

* * *

**End Note:** I don't know what depresses me more: 

A) Kish has a virus (O.o)

B) I don't have any clue what's going to happen now (:O)

OR

C) The shortness of this chapter (-.-)

But I know what makes me happy – reviews!

Don't worry. It's selfish promoting.

Love,  
exangeline


	7. Failsafe

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMM -.- I don't particularly wish I did, either. I like the way the series is, this fanfic is just my musings.

**Note:** I am now racist to iPod's. And IBM computers. Aka, Ja's iPod Shuffle died because she plugged it into an IBM computer… SO NOW I HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER ONE! But that's not the worst of it… Ja's only copy of the Chapter o7 and o9 Manuscript was written on the hard-drive of that iPod. AND NOWHERE ELSE…So hence why this update is so late.

O.O Review, it's good for your diet.

Lyrics by _Evanescence_.

* * *

Chapter o7 – Failsafe

_Now that you've decided to stay  
__We'll remain together  
__You can't abandon me…  
__You belong to me…_

**Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…**

The sound of Earth monitors with their infernal noises were the only thing keeping Eustachia out of the realm of daydreaming. These musings, of course, would be nothing good, containing only what her imagination believed would happen to her single most important patient of all.

He was situated on the far side of the room, lying on a bed with his hands, feet and neck secure with unbreakable bonds.

When she looked at him, she felt her blood chill in her veins. Sorrow warped her mind. No body deserved to suffer like that. She could see him, even now, shaking.

No matter how many times she had tried to steady him with different medication, technique and tactic, neither his fever nor seizure would die down. It was unstoppable.

Luckily, once he was unconscious, the effects diminished. She had injected a soporific drug into his system, placing him into a deep sleep. It would keep him in the state for at least most of the day.

Eustachia stood from her place on the observation room table, straightening the powder blue dress she wore underneath dark chemise, obviously alien hospital attire.

Just as she was moving towards the exit of the small room, the door slid open and in entered a single, brunette colleague. Eustachia gazed down at him, worried eyes suddenly growing kinder.

'Tart, what are you doing here?' She asked, in a daze at the young alien's fast arrival since the wake up call beforehand.

The amber-eyed youngster stared up at her, face full of complete anxiety, 'Will Kisshu be okay?' Eustachia felt her heart go out to the usually cheeky Taruto.

Often, there would be periods of time when Tart was almost unbearable. However, when a friend was in danger, his personality shifted to impedient aid and concern. _It's cute,_ Eustachia found herself thinking, _he's so innocent despite his job._

It took Eustachia a moment to remember his question, of which she only did so as he looked up at her expectantly. 'I hope so,' was all she managed to get out on such short notice.

Awkward silence filled the room right then. Tart raced up to the glass window and gazed down at his elder, trying to regain composure for their next mission. 'Where's Pai?' The nurse asked, trying to make conversation. Tart, mesmerized in shock by the sight of Kish strapped up in such a way, looking extremely ruffled, replied back automatically.

He spoke softly, 'Finalising a new plan.' This caused an eyeroll from the female alien.

Eustachia's reply was a pure musing thought. Had she said anything of the like in front of Deep Blue-sama, she was sure he would end her life. 'I don't see why we need to attack them.'

Despite the male Madronan soldiers, Eustachia had never been for the infiltration of Earth. She despised anything that would cause harm to any race, even the humans, of which their society spoke of as vermin.

Tart averted his gaze from the unconscious patient in the infirmary. His expression was downcast, somewhat depressed and he spoke in a mumble. 'Neither do I.'

A small smile crossed over the nurse's face. She had heard him as clear as day yet pleaded ignorance, 'Huh?' She muttered.

Tart turned away. 'Nothing.' She noticed the blush on his face and the small smile grew wider.

The conversation between Tart and Eustachia was cut off when Pai, in all his elegance, stalked into the room. A frown was plastered on a rigid face.

_Does he ever smile?_ Was what crossed over both Eustachia and Tart's mind when they saw him. They knew the answer as well as the reason for it.

Mauve eyes grew a hint softer once the purple-haired alien spotted his fellow Madronan in the hospital wing. He turned to Eustachia and the eyes grew cold again. 'What has happened to him?' He asked.

Eustachia looked at him then back at Kisshu. She began to explain. It took a while to list all the variables and the circumstances of Kish's illness. She spoke quickly, knowing that the information would only serve to confuse Taruto but would make perfect sense to Pai.

Eventually, after the briefing was over, Pai nodded to her. 'You were correct in issuing the lockdown protocol… do you have a cure?'

She shook her head, meaning no. Pai sighed.

'How long do you believe he will be here for? Is there any possibility we could allow him to regain active status?' Eustachia frowned at even uttering the suggestions Pai just spoke of.

Another shake of the head, once again signalling no. 'No, definitely not.' Another sigh.

'Very well then. Taruto and I will be implementing a new tactic on our fight against Earth, we may require your assistance.' He moved towards the door. 'Is he stable enough to be left alone, even in lockdown?'

Eustachia nodded, 'Yes. Let me alleviate him and increase the dose of Soporifine I used to keep him unconscious. This should let him sleep for at least half a day. Then we'll get going.'

'Indeed.' Tart moved to Pai's side and the two began to walk out. Eustachia glimpsed down at Kish with sorrowful eyes. She called the elder alien's name.

'Pai.' He turned around to meet her sapphire eyes with his own amethyst ones. 'This virus,' she began, 'I wouldn't wish it on anyone, even the humans… It's going to get worse before it gets better.'

After he left, she placed a hand on the glass and watched the inert figure in the bed for a long moment.

'A lot worse.'

* * *

His eyes snapped open in an instant and his breath, previously deep and relaxed, grew frantic. Arms were bound to a wall or a bed, perhaps, which just made him more terrified of the situation. He struggled to break free but the stronghold of the ropes binding him would not relinquish their extreme grip.

Gold irises, their colour marred with black pupils, scanned the surface for any sign of life. Elfin ears twitched as he reached out for any sound or resonation of sound in the immediate vicinity. None rebounded back to them.

Confusion invaded his face right then as his newly conscious mind searched for any indication, any sign, to expose where he was held captive.

The room was spacious, yet crowded. Hospital beds, approximately twenty of them, lined the walls with a corridor, a meter in length, unguarded with furniture so a figure or two could proceed down it to a small door on the far wall.

An observation room was present above the opposite wall to which this door was bound. It was high above the tall infirmary, opaque blue glass staring coldly back at him. The alien shut his eyes for an evanescent second and tried to locate auras of his kind, the Madronans, or any other live species in the small room adjacent to his.

Nothing receded nor reverberated back to him. Kish reopened his eyes and finally, as the answer came to his tired, weary mind, he relaxed.

_The hospital wing, _he thought, _I'm in the infirmary…_

This meant, of course, he had not become the kidnapped prey of a human nor alien race. He was still on Prometheus with Pai, Tart, Eustachia and, of course, the comatose Deep Blue-sama.

But that didn't explain why he was lying in a hospital bed with his neck, hands and feet bound with tight rope. This material of which connected to the divan below was digging into his body, leaving a dark, red mark on his pale skin.

Kisshu tried to turn his head, no go. He attempted to flex his arms or move his fingers, negative. Make an effort to remove his legs from the rope, definitely not.

He groaned. There was no way out of this bed. He was stuck there until someone came to release him… but_ why was he tied up in the first place?_

Another sound, this time a sigh, echoed through his throat and the room. Memories floated back to him, of his life, love and past.

And, of course, the fact that he now had an unknown virus circulating his system.

'_Kisshu Haikari, you and this base is on LOCKDOWN.'_ Eustachia's words came to him.

The diseased extraterrestrial screwed up his eyes in annoyance and pain. A wave of tremendous anguish rioted through his body at that moment. The annoyance was derived from the fact that there were no more trips to Earth for a long, long while

The thought of not seeing Ichigo again, nor making sure she was safe, chilled him to the bone. It scared him more than the pain, the virus and…

Death.

He gritted his teeth. He was going to break through these binds if it was the last thing he ever did.

His hands pressed so hard against the binds that he was sure they would start bleeding at any given time. This apparition didn't stop him. In all actuality, it fuelled his passion to break free even further.

_Ichigo, Help me, Koneko…_ A scream of fury resonated right then. Upon whispering his beloved's name, it flew through his veins.

He… he had the power.

Again, Kisshu's sharp teeth smashed together. This time in anger rather than irritation. _There is no way I'm giving up now…_ was what crossed his mind then, _NO WAY!_

A peculiar event occurred right then. It happened so fast that it was hardly noticeable.

Kisshu's eyes burned red.

Crimson. Scarlet. Blood… completely red.

Smoke filled the room in a single, terrifying moment. The smell was what Kish noticed first. Then the sight.

Fire flickered around him. His facial expression grew confused. What… What's happening? Where is this coming from?

As the orange flames surrounded his frail figure, he realised he felt no pain. The fire covered him and yet there was only a slight warmth.

Then, he crackling stopped. Silence. Until..

**SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!**

All five binds shattered in an instant. Kish stared down at them in shock.

He flexed his arms. They moved freely and unscathed, as if the binds had never covered them. He moved his neck, which was not stiff. And his legs, albeit wobbly, they were still stable.

He looked down, realising that his usual attire had been replaced with a skin-tight dark grey Madronan hospital suit. Both pants and shirt were long-sleeved and a perfect fit. A hot flush came over his face despite his usual attitude to innuendo.

After a second's embarrassment, he regained himself. Gold eyes blinked regularly as he made his way to the thick, steel door leading out of the infirmary.

He pressed his hand on the code panel, expecting the door to open. It didn't. it was then he remembered the rules associated with the lockdown protocol.

'Damn,' he swore, not even the fire that had broken the bonds could get through the Alium walls of the sanatorium.

_About that fire,_ he thought, curious to what had happened back there. Kish turned towards the bed of which he had been tied to. It was completely white, neither marks nor other indication that it had caught on fire. The only difference was that now, the binds were broken off.

His brow crinkled in perplexity. A wild thought crossed his mind. _Did… did I make that fire?_ The possibility was outrageous yet possible, when one considered the circumstances. Who knew what the virus that he now held actually could make him do?

Another idea crossed his mind. It was crazy to suggest but just might work. _And it would give me a clear way in testing whether or not I made the fire…_

Kish moved to the small door on the other side of the room. It opened easily. Eustachia hadn't locked the door as she had believed the bonds would hold him.

_Thank the goddess she doubted my power…_ He found himself thinking, a smirk crossing over his face as he ambled right.

The room, unlike the infirmary, was not made up of such thick metal walls. It was almost automatic. Kish placed both hands on the wall protecting him from the corridor outside. _Please, please work,_ he beseeched.

Eyes wide, his irises faded to crimson. Hands tightened and paled further as he tried with all his might to conjure up the fire.

It crossed his mind that the flames mightn't be derived from him, but another. However, the feelings of release associated with the fire were undeniable.

A wave of pain flew down his spine once more. Then the now familiar feeling of reprieve crossed over his mind and figure.

BOOM.

The explosion rocked the room. The wall crumbled. Despite his expectations, Kish was completely shocked at the effect.

His hands shook in surprise. 'How? Why can I do this?' He whispered to no one in particular, for the sudden uproar of flames proved his theory correct. _I can control it…_

Kisshu averted his gaze to the hole in the wall. The fire had had an explosive effect instead of just destructive. Nothing else in the small lavatory adjoining the infirmary was damaged.

He walked out of the room, via the newly created crater in the wall. It took him moments before he realised where his feet, which had just suddenly began to walk one direction, were taking him.

The green-haired, totally bewildered alien stared at the confines of the Virtual Reality room with widened eyes when he stopped moving.

'Why here?' Straight after Kish had uttered these words and, with a single, shaking step, walked into the VR room, the door slid shut with a large THUMP and the lights began to dim.

The beginning of a simulation…

He breathed. 'What the-' was all he got out before the countdown began in its usual, mechanical way.

**10…9…8…**

Kisshu's eyes widened. He spun on his heel and tried to open the door behind him, using his fists to bang on the metallic entrance. It did not make any indication of releasing him from the room, however.

_Bind limbs with fear  
__Choke me with tears  
__Won't die for you_

**7…6…**

'No! Someone let me out!' He turned his head around to search the room. The light was diminishing. Soon it would be pitch darkness until the simulation reached its peak.

_You've been here before  
__And come back for more  
__Not this time_

The lights were further diminishing. Deciding the door was no reprieve; Kish turned and positioned himself in the middle of the room.

If the doors wouldn't open for him, he'd fight his way out.

**5…4…**

The VR had never locked him in before, usually pounding the door would release an aura of discomfort around his figure, the senses would pick it up and he would be released…

_You will never be strong enough  
__You will never be good enough  
__You were never conceived in love  
__You will not rise above_

A thought crossed his mind… What if Pai had disabled the force-field as a warning to anyone that the room was out of order?

His breath caught in his throat. No, no. Pai wouldn't do that.

**3…**

_Somebody tell me  
__What made us all believe you?  
__I should have know all along  
__It was all a lie_

He screwed up his face in pain. This wasn't happening. 'Please, don't let this happen…' The whisper met no reply as he was in a spaceship, orbiting Earth.

A spaceship that was deserted.

**2…**

_Now I know the truth  
__I'm through fearing you  
__And I am free_

'Time to fight,' he was whispering for his sake more than others. The only way to keep his sanity was to convince himself he wasn't insane.

**1…**

_You will never be strong enough  
__You will never be good enough  
__You were never conceived in love  
__You will not rise above_

His eyes snapped open. Gold irises met only darkness.

**0…**

_Somebody tell me  
__What made us all believe you?  
__I should have know all along  
__It was all a lie_

'Here we go.'

**Simulation Begin…**

_Should have known  
__It was all a lie_

* * *

**End Note: **DEATH TO SHORT CHAPTERS AND CLIFFHANGERS AND LONG PERIODS OF NO UPDATING! -breathes heavily- Heh.

Not so much pissed off at iPod's and the like anymore, as Mum just bought me a new iPod Nano… yay! But there is no way – NO WAY – I am letting my Nano near an IBM computer… -holds up pentagram book- Stay back evil fiends!

Love,  
exangeline


	8. Jessika

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it.

**Note:** Sorry for the excruciatingly long wait, dudes. I have one very good reason to enforce about my extreme lateness of this chapter:- School Certificate trials. They have been the BANE of my existence. And soon after, I'll have to sit the actual school certificate. Sucks, eh? I reckon.

Nonetheless, the chappie is done now. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Lyrics by _Crash Test Dummies_.

* * *

o8 – Jessika

_All the years that have come to pass  
And all the years that shall be  
I see here right before me  
I see here before me_

Darkness flooded every possible surface. His eyes were wide with anticipation, as if something was going to strike at him at any given moment. But wherever he looked, there was only darkness. Black met his eyes and it almost drove him insane to see so much nothingness.

He spun on his heel, in a 360 motion, until he was back where he began. Or where he thought he began. There was nothing to prove that he was, all that surrounded him was nothing at all. In a twisted, dark way, it made sense.

Despite his usually calm, sometimes perverted demeanour, Kisshu was scared. Never had the simulation machine been switched on by itself let alone choose a scenario such as this. In fact, if his memory served correctly, it had happened twice.

All attempts to calm his fast-beating heart provided as useless. The task distracted him long enough for a stray thought to enter his mind. _The walls, I'm still in the room, so the walls should still be there…_

He set off to work immediately, running forward with his hands in front of him, waiting to come into contact with the surface of the simulation room's interior. All that greeted him, however, was once again nothing. There were no walls on that side.

In a frantic attempt to bring any type of realism into a completely unrealistic situation, Kish ran to the other side of the void, hands in front of him, running until his hands met the wall.

Again, nothingness awaited him.

It is said that being in pitch darkness for too long, without anything to focus on, will make a person faint after a while. Not able to remember which way was left, right, up or down, Kish's legs fell down from underneath him. The next thing he knew, his face was pressed up onto invisible ground.

A voice spoke from the darkness right then, 'What do we have here?' The voice held some similarities to Kisshu's own tone, yet obvious differences could be pinpointed as well. The voice was much older, maturer and didn't hold the personality that his did.

It seemed that he needed to work every bone in his body past their limit to even think about trying to sit up. After what seemed to be an hour of failed attempts, he managed to pull it off. An extreme head-spin almost caused him to collapse once more.

Hoping for a sign, a person, something or anything that could help him out of the place, Kish searched the darkness with his amber irises. He tried to call out to whoever it was but couldn't manage to hear his own voice. Every breath he took seemed to make the void a whole lot darker, if possible.

It was a darkness he knew his eyes could never get used to. What sort of trickery was this? He knew that someone must have been trying to weaken him. And, he was ashamed to admit; it seemed like it was working. He was reduced to nothingness, like everything else surrounding him.

Sitting up was hard, but standing was near damn impossible. It took what seemed aeons before he was bought to his feet and even then, with violent shaking and swaying, he found that he could hardly walk.

His legs felt like jelly. He tilted his head down (or what he thought was down, he couldn't be sure of anything anymore) and reached out to touch them. His hands only connected with air.

'Oh god.' His voice was completely muffled. Almost a whisper although it felt like he had screamed it out loud. _He had no body…_

This time, Kish almost fainted. What was going on? He had no clue, no sense of reality anymore. He could feel his conscience slip away, even now.

The force of this knowledge almost drove Kisshu to falling over again. He didn't manage to hit the ground, however, because someone or something grabbed him from behind.

A hand was secured around his neck. He could feel his airhole being blocked by the pressure exerted by whomever held him hostage. His world filled with stars.

_Finally, something that isn't blackness…_ he was relieved yet terrified at the same time. Someone was suffocating him! The pressure grew even worse on his neck and he began to choke.

His hands moved to his throat, trying to pry off the other hands from around his neck. He could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness.

The hands wouldn't give way. He drew his last breath.

Just before Kisshu slipped into unconsciousness, a voice hit his ears. It took a second to realise that the voice was, in fact, his. It was loud and clear as he passed out.

It spoke only one word. A word that had no particular meaning to him yet still managed to shock him.

He said, 'Keishu.' His world didn't fade to black, as everything was already black, but he passed out completely.

'Are you sure it's okay?' Ichigo squeezed Masaya's hand, suddenly nervous as they neared the end of the street. She had no idea of the peril Kish had gotten himself into and was glad she was spending the day with her beloved instead of worrying about her fun-loving alien stalker.

And yet, it still felt like she was working. Not at the Café, but as a Mew. It seemed as labouring as fighting a Chimera Anima.

All she wanted was a nice, normal day where she and Masaya could hang out. No fighting, no interruptions, nothing that could come between them and their destiny… just an ordinary girl with a guy date.

Ichigo shivered, passing through a cold spot. Goosebumps appeared on her skin as she released another deep shudder. Masaya, who had been staring off into the distance, watching the street names go by, turned to her suddenly. His eyebrows furrowed in concern, 'Are you cold, Ichigo?'

A serene smile lit up the cat-girl's face when she felt the worry in his voice. To know someone was there to care about you – to love you – was one of the best feelings in the world to her. It made her feel special, different, like she was treasured for just being herself.

'I'll be fine,' her reply was immediate. Albeit it made her feel warm inside when he spoke with such care for her health, Ichigo disliked it when Masaya was worried.

They walked in silence thereon; her heart was beating fast in her chest.

'So how long are we from her place?' Ichigo asked, the butterflies still welling up in her chest. Albeit she had done many courageous things – like approach total strangers – before, she was still extremely shy. Not as shy as Lettuce, her Mew companion, however. But pretty shy nonetheless.

She wanted to make a good impression on this "Jessika Harcesis" person. Especially if Masaya knew her. The fact that she was his friend made Ichigo feel just that little bit more anxious. However, she kept her thoughts at bay and continued to move forward.

'Not long now, Ichigo.' He said, smiling at her with that irresistible smile. She felt like… She felt like kissing his lips right then. But he had shown no sign of wanting to kiss her and she wasn't going to make the move if he didn't want it as well.

Actually, he had never really made any indication of wanting to kiss her or finding her even remotely kiss-able. _Another strange word in my strange vocabulary,_ Ichigo thought randomly.

Kish was the exact opposite, however, it seemed like he wanted to kiss her _all the time._ While Ichigo found this insufferable and perverted, she did feel kind of flattered, as well, and quite good, actually. She felt that, with Kish, she was actually _wanted._

She shook her head, totally stunned by her thoughts. _What am I saying that I WANT to be with him? He's rude and totally unbearable, not to mention he's my enemy. How many times do I have to tell myself that?_

Ichigo tried to calm her suddenly extremely fast beating heart. It was going even faster than usual. With a couple of deep breaths, she managed to regain her composure on her emotions and her self.

_I'm sure that Masaya has his reasons. He's just being respectful. Yeah, that's it. He's 100 respectful of me; he cares about me and doesn't want to take things too fast… Unlike Kish. Yeah. Kish is totally un-respectful. He would rather have his way with me and get what he wants than even consider how I feel…_

The bitter words hit her full force. This only occurred because, once passing her line of thought, she knew it wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Not after seeing the raw concern and pain in his eyes the other night, when they were in her bathroom.

Suddenly, she felt the grip on her hand tighten. This derailed her train of thought and kept her back on track with reality. Masaya grinned down at her. Suddenly, all her concerns just melted away, and she felt herself smiling back.

_His smile… is heaven. It's where I want to be…_

However, this euphoric feeling was pulled down and brutally squished by the looming feeling of dread when Masaya spoke, 'We're here, Ichigo. Jessika lives here.'

She gulped. She had to regain control. Pushing all excess thoughts to the back of her head, including the dealio with Kisshu and the problems that surrounded the problematic alien enemy of hers. _I'll think about that later,_ she decided.

_But first, I have to meet Miss Jessika Harcesis._

She only hoped that the answers she sought would be revealed here.

She was clad in complete ivory when they entered the room. A light smile crossed over her soft features as she waited in the threshold of a large room. Ichigo and Masaya made their way through the front door, ducking under a super-massive sun-catcher positioned in the middle of their path.

'Masaya-kun, it's nice to see you again,' Jessika Harcesis smiled at the male guest then turned her attention to the slightly clinging female. 'You must be Ichigo Momomiya; it's my pleasure to meet the one that my good friend holds so true to his heart. Well met, Momomiya-san.'

Her light smile became wider. Ichigo, despite obvious caution she had considering how well Jessika knew her boyfriend, had begun to like the girl already. Everything about her was the epitome of beautiful.

They stood in silence for a few, short moments before a faint ring came from within the next room. Ichigo realised it must be a kitchen of some sorts; she could see rows on rows of herbs and pots.

'Follow me,' Jessika said, green eyes shining with content. Ichigo could see that this girl was living happily, just by looking at her. The teenage girl led the two into the next room.

Ichigo had guessed right. The kitchen of the Harcesis house was small, much smaller than hers. In fact, it seemed to be only a bit wider than her bathroom at home. She took in her surroundings, the vague smell of cinnamon lingered in the air.

Jessika pulled up two rosewood-tinted chairs for them both. They sat with their own smiles playing on their faces. Something about the house made Ichigo beam in delight; it had an air of refreshment about it.

'I'm glad you stopped by, Masaya-kun. Especially since you bought Momomiya-san. You're right about this one, my friend, she's stunning.' Jessika's comments made Ichigo blush. Her face faded from pale cream to a deep crimson. Masaya just smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

An object in the corner of the room caught Ichigo's attention all of a sudden. It was a picture of what seemed to be Jessika's boyfriend. She didn't know how she knew, but she did. Call it a sixth sense.

Jessika caught Ichigo's lingering stare at the photograph. She removed the frame from the counter and placed it on the table. 'His name is Ayame. You do not need to worry about my relationship with Masaya-kun, I promise you, we are completely plutonic.'

Ichigo looked up, eyes wide. Her coffee-coloured irises met Jessika's green ones. How had she known what she had been thinking? Was it possible that, like Ichigo herself, Jessika was part of a bigger plan?

'You need answers, my dear lady, to questions we can't even begin to imagine. Step upstairs, I'll tell you what you need to know.' Jessika stood, giving a brief nod to Masaya. He released Ichigo's hand from his tight grasp and stepped through the threshold on the other side of the room. A moment later, Ichigo could see him appear through the window on the small balcony outside.

'Follow me.' She spoke, this time in a whisper. Ichigo pursed her as they ascended the staircase leading to the second floor of Jessika's amazingly relaxing house. _How could something and someone be so perfect_? Ichigo's mind raced, she knew that absolutely no one could be perfect. Jessika must have some flaws, but they didn't seem to be skin deep.

The staircase lead to a long hallway, beige walls flanking either side of the two teenagers as they headed to the back of the corridor, towards a small door situated on the opposing wall.

Jessika slid in first, the door opened to only a crack. Ichigo waited for a brief moment outside of the rosewood-tinted entrance until the elder girl resurfaced from within the room, a curt nod giving Ichigo permission to enter. She did so.

A moment's glance gave the girl all the information she needed to know. The room they had entered was obviously Jessika's bedroom. The elder woman lead her guest over to a corner in the beautifully sculptured (and violently purple) bedroom towards a cherry wood painted table, surrounded by plump, feathery violet cushions.

Ichigo placed her bag next to the cushion opposite the one Jessika lowered herself to sit on. She located the seat and, with the usual cat demeanour, sat herself down. The raven-haired girl watched her with a slight smile playing on her lips as usual.

The heroine cut to the chase quite quickly. 'Do you know about someone called the Red Knight?' It was the first question that came to her mind, other than who the Harcesis is. But she planned on asking that straight after.

'The RED Knight?' Jessika cocked an eyebrow, obviously perplexed. 'I've heard of and seen the BLUE Knight, but have never even had a glimpse of the Red Knight.'

Ichigo pondered her next question. If she didn't know who the Red Knight was, is it possible she has no idea of who the Harcesis was?

Her mind raced. But what if Jessika _did_ know? Then it would be the correct question to ask. In seconds, a third, chilling prospect came to mind.

What if she knew who the Red Knight and the Harcesis is, but had no intention of telling her? In truth, Ichigo didn't know Jessika Harcesis at all. Sure, she had amazing powers and obviously knew of her Mew identity but was she friend or foe?

She could be working for the enemy, for all Ichigo knew. She didn't know much but her experiences as a Mew revealed one key hint: people are not what they seem. No matter how friendly or trustworthy they are, everyone has secrets. Even Ichigo did.

Even the Mews, Ryou, Keiichiro… Kish… They all had secrets. Small things that they wouldn't dare confide in someone about. Others, they would. But it's all about earning trust.

Trust. It always came back to it, didn't it?

Ichigo took a deep breath. _Well, here goes nothing…_ She decided to project her trust into Jessika Harcesis right then, and ask the question that was dwelling in her mind ever since she had heard the name spoken from her enemy's lips…

The enemy she loved to hate… or was it hate to love? Ichigo didn't even want to explore that possibility. The prospect of even thinking about being with Kisshu and not Masaya chilled her to the bone.

But in what sense? Was the feeling good or bad?

_Ichigo Momomiya!_ She chided herself; _there is noooo way you are getting into this mess with yourself. Not while you're so close to either finding the answers you want or getting at least one step forward in this hunt. Now ask the question!_

'Well, do you have any idea of who this "Harcesis" character is? Or even his or her purpose?' Ichigo felt a lot more nervous than she sounded. She had no idea what a reaction Jessika would give off of this question.

She only hoped that she wasn't reading her mind right about now, hearing all these doubtful thoughts and actions towards her.

The elder girl, with her sweet scent of herbal remedies and strawberry blonde hair lay back in her chair, looking at Ichigo through keen, emerald eyes. 'I would be lying if I said I had never heard the name before. In fact, it is of a somewhat coincidence. Believe me; this has nothing to do with my last name, either.'

Ichigo breathed a short sigh of relief. She had half expected the seemingly calm girl to blow up on her. For no apparent reason did she fear this, all she knew was that she did.

Jessika continued right then. 'I've been conducting my own research into the identity of the tip as well as the Harcesis himself – that is, if he is actually a he – but it hasn't come up with many results…'

Ichigo interrupted, suddenly curious and slightly confused, 'Tip? What do you mean by that?'

The girl waved her hand idly, as if to tell Ichigo she'd return to that topic momentarily. This is exactly what she did. 'I don't know who the Harcesis is but a couple of days ago, I received a transmi- I mean, phone call, from someone anonymously, giving me what seemed to be a riddle of some sorts.'

Her eyes widened, this was a lead. She had a lead! Ichigo felt the excitement bubble in her chest, finally, some answers! Or, at least, she was getting close to some answers. She felt like a ten year old playing a Nancy Drew game.

_I wish I could be like Nancy Drew, solving mysteries daily yet always back home for dinner or dates with her boyfriend, Ned._ She thought, lost in her own reverie, _Unlike me, I seem to be forever late for dinner… and work… and dates with Masaya…oh, and fighting against evil and the bane of my existence…_

Her supersensitive ears picked up on Jessika continuing to speak. This simple wave of sound shattered Ichigo out of her dream world. She was thankful for it, as her daydreams seemed to have taken a new turn. A certain turn that had deep green hair and amber eyes…

'Don't even ask me what it means,' She said, handing Ichigo a copy of the riddle, 'I've spent nights trying to decipher what it could possibly mean. But the last stanza definitely indicates that it, in actuality, has nothing to do with me.'

Ichigo stared down at the copy of the riddle.

'Go ahead. Read it.' Jessika egged her on. Ichigo did just that.

'_Look where the ocean meets the sky  
On the back of wings take to fly …_

'_Through the seas midst  
And the underworld of dark rapture  
Through the mouth of the volcano  
You will capture …_

'_Me, the Harcesis, the one you seek  
Beware, this journey is not for the meek_

_Only true strength will prevail  
I hope, Mew Ichigo, you do not fail'_

Ichigo just stared at the cryptic, rhyming stanzas her eyes were a minute ago feasting on. That was it? No answers. No indications. No nothing.

She had done analysing and dissecting poetry before in her English Literacy class with the SIFT and SIE method (Sense. Intention. Feeling. Tone. Symbiosis. Imagery. Emotion.) But never had she deciphered something as cryptic as this.

Screw Nancy Drew. This puzzle belonged on Myst! At the thought of the extremely difficult, enchanting PC game entitled Myst, she felt immediately sick. How many hours had she slaved on the computer, trying to figure out how to answer one of the many million impossible puzzles in the game? She didn't even want to think about it.

Nonetheless, this riddle seemed to take the prize.

'Complicated, huh? It's out of my powers limits to go into something so complicated, but I guess I can ask around. I have some very handy sources at my disposal.' She gave a charming wink towards Ichigo.

'By the way. Is there anything you wanted to tell me?' The question was so sudden, that Ichigo just stared at her in mild shock.

'Uhm… No…' After careful consideration, she put on a nervous smile and added, 'You probably already know anyway…' She giggled.

Jessika smiled and laughed with her. Then she nodded. Ichigo pondered for a moment, then decided to ask the question back at it's enquirer. 'What about you? Is there anything you want to tell me?'

Ichigo observed the elder girl's face. A fleeting glance towards her indicated that she was, in fact, tense her. The question hadn't caught her off guard like Ichigo had been, she guessed that there was probably nothing that caught her off guard, considering her many talents.

But the look on her face worried her. What was so wrong with that question? What could possibly make such a peaceful girl so uneasy?

After a deep breath later, Jessika let the familiar, serene smile cross over her face once more and spoke, 'No. There isn't.'

Ichigo could tell it was a lie.

After a hesitant laugh and a drink of herbal tea, Ichigo finally felt ready to leave the Harcesis cottage.

With a smile and a wave back at Jessika, and quickly securing the girl's phone number in her mobile phone (as well as giving hers in return), Ichigo walked down the stairs into the living room then moved swiftly towards the door.

Checking that she had all her belongings with her, she raced out the door and met Masaya sitting down on the porch, gazing across the landscape presented before them.

Clasping his hand tightly in her own, Ichigo made her way down the small stone steps and across the lawn towards the footpath and Main Street.

She didn't turn back. She already knew that Jessika was watching her.

And she was doing just that. As she watched Ichigo depart with her love, her eyes were full to the brim with sorrow at seeing such a lively girl depart already.

She had almost totally ruined the conversation and probably branded herself as a freak in the cat-girl's eyes when she almost said the word "transmission" instead of "phone call."

Jessika averted her gaze from the view outside to another photo frame, lying face down on the rosewood table. Picking it up gently, she tilted the picture upright, so the image within was revealed.

A girl with long, emerald green hair and beautiful sparkling yellow eyes, holding hands with a handsome man only a couple of years older than her, greeted her eyes. It was Ayame. Her boyfriend.

'Ayame, I hope I did the right thing.' She whispered to the man in the image. Her eyes were dark with sadness and regret at the prospect of lying to someone so close to her… And yet she had seemed so far away when she asked her who she was.

Jessika's pale, left hand rose towards her chest, resting on the spot where her heart was, underneath the thin material of the ivory dress and the layers of skin, muscle and bone. Taking a deep breath with the full force of her body, she spread her fingers out wide.

In a soft pink flash of light, her visage changed completely.

She was her again. The real her.

With elongated hair, the colour of emeralds, and eyes as beautiful as amber, she was clad in a style dress not unlike Eustachia's from the Prometheus.

'We can't let this happen again.'

* * *

**End Note:** Gak. What an evil chapter. Not only did it take so long to put together, but writing my own OC without making her seem COMPLETELY Mary Sue-ish was a difficult task. A task I think I failed. Jessika seems to perfect to me…

But I guess I can't say that because her name isn't really Jessika Harcesis at all, eh? You poor, innocent souls are going to have to wait for future chapters before I reveal that plot twist… Mwahahaha… -chokes-

Love you all, Peeps.

Exangeline.

P.S. I've decided to be nice. Here's a preview for chapter o9.

**The darkness flooded every available surface. His gold eyes widened, 'There's no escape,' the macabre echo of evil hit his ears, speaking to him, luring him into an endless maze of chaos and death. He couldn't do this again… not like last time. **


	9. Freefall

**Disclaimer:** I don't own TMM; I only own the characters Jessika Harcesis and Eustachia. I also own segments of the plot.

**Note:** Hey guys, this is Exangeline with chapter o9 of Harcesis being posted! Again, I am sorry for the extremely long time between 'Failsafe' and 'Jessika' and I have realised I've lost a lot of my readers. It kind of sucks but now that I'm back on track, hopefully you peeps will forgive me and keep reading.

Lyrics by _Evanescence_.

* * *

Chapter o9:- Freefall

_If you love me  
__Then let go of me,  
I won't be held down  
__By who I used to be  
_…_She's nothing to me_

Keiichiro excused himself from the conversation. He wasn't even sure it could be counted as a conversation, as it was Ryou bellowing at the girls about the lateness of their leader, interrogating each one about her whereabouts. He eventually cracked Lettuce, who said Ichigo had briefly mentioned the words 'Masaya', 'investigate' and 'important.'

Upon hearing the name of Ichigo's boyfriend – her sickly perfect, lover boy boyfriend – Ryou exploded into a fit of rage. Keiichiro never saw him that angry before.

It was uncomfortable for all of them, which is why, at exactly the same moment as Keiichiro left, the girls scattered, throwing excuses at the irate caretaker of the Café and returned to the various jobs allocated to them.

Descending the basement steps, he could hear the sound of someone _ascending_ to the second floor, feet pounding. The suspect was revealed a moment later when one of the doors of the second floor – obviously Ryou's room – slammed shut.

Keiichiro smiled and shook his head at the teenager. Over all the years and everything that had happened to him, Ryou had matured extremely well for his age. However, when Ichigo was involved, he seemed to loose the experience and act as if he was ten years off his present age.

_Look what love does to a man,_ he thought, remembering his own experiences with Rei, abruptly brushing the beautiful woman out of his thoughts and continuing to make his way down the opaque, dark steps and into the laboratory.

The computers whirred to life as Keiichiro pressed the control button on the computer tower. After the OS had loaded and the various screens arrive to greet him, he was in control, pressing manically into the keyboard, layers of machine code visible on the screen.

The Myu Program encrypted within the computer's many firewalls was bought to life once more. With this program, he monitored the dots on the screen. As before, with the tiff involving one of the aliens, Kisshu, the pink dot was not at the Café.

In fact, she wasn't anywhere near the Café, this time. Her dot was located in one of the many side streets across the city of Tokyo, walking with an unidentified male.

Of course, this signal did not emit the radiation barrier the aliens had against the Earth detectors, so his signal did not flash red. Keiichiro took one educated guess into who the dot could be. Masaya.

It was bluntly obvious that Ichigo had ditched work to go and see him, but Lettuce's words still rung in his ears clearly. She had spoken of an investigation to her fellow Mew Mew, one that was of great importance.

His eyebrows furrowed.

_What was Ichigo hiding from them?_

He continued to observe the screen but his thoughts were elsewhere. He racked his brain for every possible reason Ichigo could go out and investigate. The possibility of it being an excuse was not excluded but Keiichiro had worked with the young girl many times and despite her animosity towards Ryou, she still enjoyed working with the Mew Mews and himself.

His train of thought was rapidly derailed when two bleeping, red dots appeared on the screen. One gave off only a faint radiation; he assumed this was Taruto, the youngest alien. But the second dot was mature, he could not guess whether or not it was Pai or Kish, as both seemed to be of level command.

They were on top of a shopping outlet overlooking the Kanto region, they're exact coordinates landed them right next to town square, where majority of people were meeting that day for…

…The Tokyopop Festival!

There was not usually a festival at such times as this, it was; in fact, only present as the shopping mall that the aliens had been situated on was a newly crafted building, they were celebrating its opening with a festival of some sorts.

In alarm, Keiichiro pressed the alarm button. All five Mew pendants would suddenly emit a super-sonic distress signal, of which only merged occupants could hear. Seeing as all five animals were one of which had super hearing capability, there would be no problem in getting them to organise the shut down of the Café.

Mint. Lettuce. Pudding. Zakuro. All four of the present Mews came running down to the basement. The opening of a door could be heard as Ryou exited his room and planned to close the Café. Keiichiro briefed them upon his return.

'It seems that they have decided to target the Festival.' Collective gasps were heard by the Mews. Everybody knew that the festival was taking place in town square on that day as it had forever been broadcast on news and radio channels. It was supposedly the biggest non-traditionally based festival in Tokyo.

Cutting to the chase, Keiichiro and Ryou split the group up. Mint and Zakuro would observe the Alien's plan whereas Lettuce and Pudding would find Ichigo. They were sure her pendant had already gone off but there seemed to be no change in the monitors.

'Keiichiro will monitor from here,' Ryou said seriously, rage and ire from the previous fit dissolved completely. Keiichiro smiled despite himself, remembering his partner's mood swings as clear as day. He chuckled then, after receiving a death glare from the younger Mew Project supervisor, he turned to the computer and continued to silently laugh at the inside, private joke.

'Lets jet,' Zakuro spoke after a minute's silence. The rest of the girls smiled and echoed with a: 'Hai.' Everyone began to move right then. Ryou followed after Zakuro and Mint, a laptop computer contained in a jet black shoulder bag which swayed as they ran.

Keiichiro looked behind him at the empty laboratory, then pulled down his glasses and began to type, 'Time to get to work,' was all he said.

Only silence greeted him.

* * *

Ichigo felt uneasy. If she thought it was hard visiting Jessika Harcesis' cottage, she had another thing coming. Figuring out a reason to ditch Masaya – an act, of which she did not really want to follow through with – was perhaps the most difficult task she had been faced with. Mew or not Mew.

Eventually, the wheels of her mind began to turn and an idea spurred in her mind. It thrived rapidly as she considered the variables. It was time to go back to old-school excuses.

'Um… Aoyama-kun, do you mind if I stopped off at the toilet?' After a moment's confusion by her love, Masaya smiled at her warmly and nodded.

'No problem,' he replied and released her waist from his grip. Ichigo felt her face heat up as she watched him walk towards a nearby bench and seat himself down onto it.

She entered the lavatory as part of the act and then disappeared into a cubical. Then she surveyed the room very quickly from her position. The ladies room was deserted.

A smile lit up on her face, 'Perfect.'

She got to work very swiftly. Ditching the restroom idea, she found a small window at the top of the wall adjacent to the two lines of cubical and decided that was her best chance. After unlatching it, she began to pace towards the opposite side of the window.

Starting off at the other side, she broke into a run and, halfway through the run, lifted herself into the air. The result was her going straight up and through the now open window. She did this without difficulty, her body just the right shape to fit through.

After praise for a job well done, Ichigo leaned against the wall outside, panting softly. After regaining her breath, she searched around for her pendant.

Only to realise it was missing.

Ichigo swore silently to herself. In all her nervousness regarding escape from Masaya, she had left her bag with him, her pendant safely tucked inside.

_Greaaaat,_ she thought, _now I'm going to have to figure out another excuse to leave him. This time _with_ my pendant._

She sighed, all her work going to waste. Sucking up all of her courage, Ichigo walked around the building and back into the lavatory. Then, a second later, she re-emerged, looking as if nothing of the sort had ever happened and she was just a normal girl taking a much needed trip to the toilets.

Masaya grinned at her when she appeared in front of him and she was once again lost in his dark eyes. With a shy smile back at him, she grasped his hand and they headed for the Tokyopop Festival, hoping to loose him in the crowds.

She made sure her pendant was safely tucked into her pocket, after sneakily removing it from her bag without her beloved noticing.

Guilt crept up on her right then as she realised once again she was lying to him, Masaya, her one and only true love. She brushed the thoughts away, vowing to have a much needed think afterwards.

Upon reaching the Tokyopop festival, Ichigo stopped in her tracks.

It. Was. Huge.

There was so much to do there. Rides, shops, food, games. Ichigo was lost in the excitement that washed over her like a fever.

Only when she gazed up to see a flash, rather insignificant to somebody who wasn't a Mew but common for someone who was, did Ichigo realise what she was supposed to be doing.

_I am a Mew Mew. The leader of the Mews, actually. I have to protect these people._

And again, another shock struck her. If she had just seen right and somebody had just teleported, which meant…

The festival was the target.

Ichigo blinked, wiping the look of surprise of her face and regaining a small smile as she squeezed Masaya's hand tighter.

It was suddenly obvious to her. They had every motive to attack the festival. There were a lot of innocent, unsuspecting people which would obviously create uproar. It would make it very hard for the Mews to target them without alerting the crowd.

Ichigo reminded herself to wash her own mouth out with soap after that day, as right then she uttered a lot of colourful swear words. She was sure her father would have an embolism if he ever heard them.

She made her choice. She ran.

Of course it would be extremely hard to explain this to Masaya next time they went out and it could have possibly been the end of their relationship if he ever found out why she had done it, but right then her Iriomote Wildcat side had kicked in and her instincts forced her to escape.

Once secure in a row of neatly placed bushes, she transformed after uttering her trademark line: _Mew Mew Strawberry, Metamorphosis_. Without hesitation, she leaped onto the nearest building, jumping floors and hoisting herself up and up until she was on the roof of one of the less tall buildings surrounding town square.

At least from here, she could see the activity of the people below. Luckily, nobody had caught her presence. She felt her heart skip a beat in her chest as she gazed at the lost and confused figure of Masaya trying to make his way through the crowd, obviously to find her.

The guilt threatened to swarm her but the more urgent need to find the source of the Alien's plan completely override her emotions involving her love life.

Suddenly, she spotted another familiar in the group. She could find the petite, blue up-do of Mint always, no matter how large the crowd was. Following after her was Zakuro and then Ryou. Neither two girls were in their Mew forms.

Ichigo waited until they were in a fairly unseen area to leap down from her spot on top of the building. She watched as they became larger and larger until she hit the ground, knees bent and no pain emitted from the unusually high freefall.

She grinned at their faces, 'You called?' After regaining composure, she got a chastisement out of Mint and Ryou and a shrug from Zakuro when she asked why she was being punished verbally by them.

The argument came to a halt when an explosion overhead sounded suddenly. Her eyes narrowed.

Showtime.

* * *

Lettuce and Pudding joined them a moment later after receiving word that Ichigo had found them. In a flash of blue, green, yellow-orange and purple, the previously untransformed teenagers retained their Mew selves.

Zakuro lead the group around the complex, moving swiftly and quietly like the Grey Wolf she was. Pudding rebounded on the walls and trees surrounding the outer perimeter of the town square whereas Lettuce, Minto and Ichigo ran normally.

Ryou followed behind at a normal pace, not even trying to catch up with his five super girls. A rare smile crossed his face as he gazed up at the sky. _I did it, Dad, Mom, I finished the Mew project._

His confidence was shattered when he heard the screams.

They all grew serious. After making their appearance with the trademark battle stances, the crowds realised that if the Mews had made an arrival to the site that a fight would undergo with forces they could not comprehend. This instilled fear.

Panic was at its maximum. Everyone fled, people looking for children and family members. Cars struggled to make an exit and shop owners left their shops and other rides unattended.

Lettuce's heart raced when she heard a squeal of a baby from on top of one of the children's rides. A mother was wailing for her child, her name apparently Cassandra. Immediately, Lettuce's priorities shifted from fighting to the saviour of the child.

It was obvious that the manager of the Ferris wheel had not realised that a child was still present on the wheel when he had hit the emergency stop button and fled. The other passengers had escaped beforehand but Cassandra had not realised as she was enjoying the sight of being up so high.

Lettuce sprinted over to the ride, ignoring the calls and surprise from her fellow Mews. Her palm slammed down on the emergency button and the ride regained its spinning. Using her castanets, she managed to manoeuvre the children's Ferris Wheel down with the power of the ocean. She bolted into the carriage Cassandra and her older brother was captive in and helped them out without difficulty.

Receiving many thanks from both the brother and the mother of the child, Lettuce raced back towards her friends who were staring at her in awe.

Lettuce stood still after approaching, nervousness overtaking her mind, _had she done something wrong?_

Ichigo managed to be the first who spoke. 'Lettuce… That was AWESOME!' Both Ichigo and Pudding raced over and hugged the green Mew. She got a nod from Mint, a wink from Zakuro and a…

A smile from Ryou.

Her heart leapt suddenly and a grin took over her features. However, she found another face replacing the image of Ryou in her mind. It chilled her to the bone when he looked at her with those purple irises in her minds eye.

She shuddered then regained herself when Ryou broke contact with her and exclaimed, 'We have yet to remove the Alien threat. Our job has not yet been completed. Tokyo Mew Mew, Go!'

Another explosion sounded, breaking the sudden silence. Wounded and unconscious bystanders were the only other life forms there, until…

The roar of a fearsome Chimera Anima echoed through the wind. It arose right then, towering over them menacingly. Ryou found a spot away from the battlefield and booted his laptop, determined to find out the weakness in this new, threatening alien spore created only to destroy.

Ichigo managed to utter commands to her comrades. They all moved in separate directions and aimed cautiously with their weapons. She prayed that with their combined power, they could at least hinder the Chimera Anima's disruptive process.

'Strawberry Bell!'

'Minton Alo!'

'Lettuce Castanets!'

'Pudding Ring!'

'Zakuro Spear!'

Their weapons appeared in their hands without difficulty. They aimed them at the Chimera Anima that resembled a huge bug-like creature, somewhat like a fly…

…If flies had huge pincers and poisonous stings.

They conjured up the attack phrase made to project their powers to their weapons and their weapons to their opponent.

'Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!'

'Ribbon Mint Echo!'

'Ribbon Lettuce Rush!'

'Ribbon Puddingring Inferno!'

'Ribbon Zakuro Pure!'

A flash of white light was emitted from their combined power.

And then…

Silence.

* * *

The darkness flooded every available surface. His gold eyes widened, '_There's no escape,_' the macabre echo of evil hit his ears, speaking to him, luring him into an endless maze of chaos and death. He couldn't do this again… not like last time.

He broke. Eyes snapping open.

He was bordering on insanity after waking up and almost losing consciousness once more from the shock that there were no hands across his throat, blocking his windpipe. Kisshu blinked, the light practically blinding him after he was so used to the darkness.

He shivered, his seizing body ridden by surprise and relief. Tears flew down his face but he felt neither pain nor sadness towards any certain enterprise or event. They were tears from the unexpected blow by the figure that had almost ended his life.

What was the name he had uttered again? Keishu? It was so similar to his own that his mind flashed back to the first malfunction with the simulation room when he had faced the sham Kull Warrior who had happened to look exactly like him.

It took him so long before he trusted himself to stand and walk down the hallway. His feet seemed to be obeying him this time. Yet he would not so easily trust his urges again.

As he turned the corner, a shiver ran down his spine. A feeling of dread crossed his entire body, as it had in the simulation room. He spun, immediately wishing he didn't.

The corridor, usually a steel grey and beige was being sucked up by a tidal wave of black.

It was the darkness.

It was coming back for him.

Kish ran as fast as his legs would take him, not looking back to see if the darkness was still following him because he already knew it was.

His mind, in a state of panic, began to find ways of release. Pods? No. They wouldn't function unless the ship was in orbit or on the move. It was currently stationary in the Earth's atmosphere.

Control room? No. He wouldn't be able to keep the darkness away from him long enough…

...The teleportation room?

'It just might work,' he muttered to himself and spun right abruptly, racing for the room on a totally different route. He manoeuvred himself down the hallways leading towards the room that would prove to be his reprieve.

Only once he passed another corner and saw the room coming up ahead did he chance a look behind him…

Nothing.

The corridors where completely clear, until –

The blackness materialised behind him. Kisshu sped up once more, reaching the door in a matter of three seconds, the ghosts of the ship gaining on him.

He could feel it approaching. It was coming for him. It wouldn't stop until it found him.

In complete and utter panic, he jammed his hand onto the necessary combination to open the door. Instead of greeting him with a straight, green light, it was replaced with a blinking red one.

CODE INCORRECT.

'Shit!' He tried another combination. CODE INCORRECT. Another. CODE INCORRECT. So _much for third time lucky_, he thought and continued to punch in digits.

CODE INCORRECT.

The blackness was gaining.

CODE INCORRECT.

Closer and closer…

CODE INCORRECT.

Almost devouring him…

CODE ACCEPTED. HAVE A NICE DAY.

Kisshu had no time to sigh in relief, the door opened with a mechanical bang before it relocked itself a second later.

The teleportation room was a cylindrical shaped area, painted the same military grey as the rest of the _Prometheus_. It was a newly inserted and restricted area, meaning that it was not present on any of the simulations run by the alien machine.

Many Madronan technological advancements were kept captive within this room. The main experimentation unit utilised, second to the actual teleportation machine itself, would have to be the power generator. Acting somewhat like a battery, the power generator was the secondary back-up system after the replacement Calixte-based astral motor.

Kish glanced at the power generator out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps a power overload would be enough to engulf the darkness. He could not manage to estimate the damage done to the Prometheus.

_Have to get out of here. There's got to be a way. GOT to be…_

He had approximately five seconds before Showtime – before the tidal wave of black came crashing through the door. He could already hear the mechanism in the spring-loaded deadlock crack under the strain by the shadow. This single sound, amongst all the silence, chilled him to the bone.

After rapidly typing random Earth coordinates on the machine before him (with a mechanism closely resembling an Earth keyboard), Kish punched the locator beacon (which allowed the machine to correctly locate beings and teleport them onto the ship), breaking the entire control panel and ran towards the molecular decomposition pad.

And just as the door gave way and he could see the tidal wave crashing into the room, the machine's five second warm-up period came to an end.

Kisshu felt the unmistakable feeling of his entire self being disembowelled at the molecular scale and being replaced back into himself on the other side.

* * *

He had never been more relieved to be on Earth.

That was, until he managed to gaze out on the battlefield beneath him. Then he felt himself loose control. Slowly and carefully, his mind began to break like a mirror made of cracked glass.

Pai and Tart were fighting the Mews. How could they be fighting when the darkness was in _Prometheus_, destroying their only way back to their home planet?

How could they be fighting when the darkness was coming to get _him_?

Why did they play him like this? How dare they? How could they? He felt sick to his stomach. He wanted to stop them both. Stop Ichigo from hurting his family and stop his family from hurting Ichigo, his beloved.

He looked around at his current position. He was on the Tokyo Tower, watching Tokyo Square with widened eyes. The Chimera Anima had breached the Mew's collective power. They didn't stand a chance against it.

At first, he remembered his mission. He remembered that this was what they had wanted all along, to rid the ungrateful humans from their precious planet – a planet, of which, was rightfully owned by him and his people.

He would have gladly watched them all perish. He planned to, in fact…

…Until he saw her eyes.

Beautiful orbs of rose pink, previously the coffee coloured brown of Ichigo Momomiya. They were graceful, as was her Mew form, and confident. Oh, were they confident. Her power gave her determination but not lust or hunger for domination like previous warriors he had encountered.

She truly put forth the safety of her planet before herself.

In a way, he did too, but the look in her eyes was different. He didn't know why, but he just didn't seem to see himself in her eyes.

And then it hit him… If put into his shoes, she probably wouldn't strike out at other planets. She cared for her people, but no life was more significant than another.

So when the life died in those eyes. When all hope left her beautiful irises, he felt ready to take action.

Take action he did. The emotions that emerged from deep within him were unlike anything he had ever felt. He could do it. He could save her innocence. He could save Ichigo.

Madronan's had particular techniques into controlling Chimera Anima's, the creatures they used to complete their dirty work for them. Men were raised from boyage (Madronan word for _Childhood _in relation to masculine beings) to coerce them as easily as women were raised from girlage (Madronan word for _Childhood _in relation to feminine beings) to teach and raise children.

Kisshu used this art as well as the additional power that he could currently conjure up to not only tame the wild chimera anima, but to _destroy it entirely. _

It was not a feat he had been able to master before. No Madronan man, no matter how strong, could single-handedly remove a Chimera Anima without a type of magic or outside strength. It was impossible.

Until now.

Centring himself, just as before, Kish extended his hands and balanced his body on the top of the tower. His eyes became glazed over throughout all the concentrating and, promptly after, they burnt a deep crimson red.

The Chimera Anima reared back, howling in pain from the invisible attack. Both parties looked confused beyond words.

Kish fought hard to keep his control over the monster before them. He derived more power from the unknown source and fuelled it into his body, the exit point being his hands that he had outstretched to keep a constant aim at his victim. He shut his eyes, shuddering from the recoil.

_What are you doing, mortal? _The rumbling resonance from the Chimera's mind-speech burned his ears. Of course, it was impossible for anybody but the three aliens to hear it and, since neither Pai nor Tart was focusing on the conscious mind of the Chimera Anima, the message slipped past unnoticed.

It was a common gift, amongst many others that their people shared, that the Madronan's had acquired of which they could communicate mentally with animals of any origin. Part of their plan had come forth from the negativity displayed in some of the animal's mind.

Equines, or horses in human-speech, were one of the most negative. They put forth many tales of previous lives of which humans had put them into slavery, classing them as inferior beasts (like all the other inhabitants of Earth) and making them carry passengers or steer and ride carts.

Kish was knocked out of his reverie when suddenly; the Chimera Anima gave way to his pressure and began to rear back even more so. Its massive volume cast a vast shadow across both Pai and Tart's faces as well as the ground beneath them.

By the time he had realised, it was too late…

Memories flashed back through Kisshu's mind. The darkness, the control room…

The breaking of the teleportation machine.

And, just like that, all sanity had returned to him. Eyes wide and in shock, Kish looked down at the Earth below him. What had he been thinking? He had disabled the teleportation drive, making any attempts at escape for them impossible!

'No!' He whispered, keeping a level concentration on his power that was slowly diminishing as he begun to have a head-spin. 'Have to direct the force…' His mind both consciously and subconsciously was in a state of panic.

Tart and Pai. His family. They we're going to be engulfed by the dead weight of the Chimera Anima. Kisshu had the power to stop the monster from attacking and was killing it slowly and yet his powers had no effect on its emerging process, meaning that there was no way he could bring it back to its basic form.

Both aliens had realised this and were currently concentrating on the teleportation process. Kish already knew all hope was lost as with the machine disabled, they could not keep a lock on the location to teleport to therefore it was impossible at even a meters distance.

'Pai! I can't teleport!' The cry from the smallest alien as the Chimera Anima was gaining on them broke through the surprise derived from the failing prototype.

One second, they we're about to die.

The next, an unexpected event saved their lives.

'Ribbon Puddingring Inferno!'

'Ribbon Lettuce Rush!'

Both the yellow and the green members of Tokyo Mew Mew attacked the animal with equal force and rage. The usually playful Pudding was unexpectedly sombre and shy Lettuce showed her true colours for the second time that day.

The yellow-orange substance of Pudding's attack surrounded the Chimera Anima and, with the added power of Lettuce's attack, they managed to combine and centre the dying parasite.

This broke the spell for Mew's Ichigo, Mint and Zakuro. All together, the five Mews's attacked the animal, doing what Kisshu could not. The collective power enabled the Chimera DNA to collapse into itself and to be bought back into its basic form – the Earth animal and the Chimera cell that merged together to create the terrifying beast.

Tart fell to the floor, gasping with relief. Pai was stunned at the scientific anomalies bought forth by his lack of information and resource. Nobody had yet noticed him…

…A fact that was altered a moment later when Taruto suddenly looked up toward the tower and right into Kisshu's eyes. In return, his eyes widened and then he exclaimed, pointing, 'Kisshu!'

In that moment of which everybody looked over in his direction and his presence was revealed, he felt the power drain out of him.

He knew that they were safe. Pai. Tart. The Mew's had helped them. They had saved their lives when they really had no right to live considering.

The relief and pain kicked in at the exact same time, causing him to relapse back into his own mind and power. The unknown source was no longer providing him with power and it took its toll on him.

His eyes transformed from crimson to amber once more.

And then, as simple as any other action of the day, his feet fell from below him. With no power or ability to teleport, it was as if he were any other human. Like every other human, he had to obey the laws of gravity.

His body arched forward after loosing the support from his legs…

…And he fell, off the Tokyo Tower, over twenty storeys high.

_Freefall,  
__Freefall,  
__All through life_

* * *

**End Note:** Wow… I'm surprising myself now… 10 pages in size 9 writing! Woop! I finally finished Chapter Nine, dudes and it wasn't as long a wait as Chapter Eight was! I…I think I'm going to cry out of happiness! Waaaaaaaaaaaa! Enjoy, peeps.

Remember – Read and Review. It's good for your diet.

Love,

Exangeline.


	10. Ceasefire

**Disclaimer:** Tokyo Mew Mew isn't mine. Neither is broccoli. Helleperyoxyln doesn't really exist in trees at all, it's my made up drug which means it's still MINE. As is Jessika Harcesis, Eustachia and the plot of this story.

**Note:** Nyaaaaaaah… I've been so tired these days. Updating Harcesis takes a lot of work sometimes. Especially when you have to think up plots for the next five or so chapters! I had chapter 12 nicely plotted until my old iPod shuffle screwed over, taking the only existing manuscript with it, a story you are all aware… I remember most of the ideas but not how I worded them…

Nonetheless, I have updated this and it is a jolly good update in my opinion. Thanks for your feedback, peeps.

Lyrics by _Peter Gabriel_.

* * *

Chapter 1o – Ceasefire

_It was only one hour ago  
__It was all so different then,  
__Nothing yet has really sunk in  
__Looks like it always did._

In the brief moments of freefall as he descended the sky towards the solid ground, Kish felt a strange warmth flood over him. Without hesitation, he surrendered to the feeling and let it take control of his body. _It's better than the alternative._

Albeit he could not fully physically function, his mind was still active, though it was racing through thoughts of fear and reminiscences memoirs he would rather forget.

'Kisshu…' Upon hearing a whisper of his name amongst the silence he was sure was associated with death, his eyes snapped open. The fear of awakening to see the ground gaining on him was eliminated by this entity that was present with him all of a sudden.

He suddenly stopped falling. His posture shifted and his feet softly touched the ground. In the few seconds this event occurred, the room became his dwellings in Madrona, the warm, bittersweet memory of the home he once had before their race had to move underground because of the destructive weather conditions.

A thought crossed his mind,_ How is this still here? I saw it being destroyed by the Enolcyc_ _with my own eyes… the disaster spread across the entire village!_

Then, the idea bloomed in his mind. It wasn't real. It was a memory from his past. A representation of the life he once had.

But why did it feel so real? The feelings… The recollections… The scent and the sight? The entire ordeal was forcing him into a corner of perplexity.

A light, golden aura surrounded the figure – the entity from before – as she appeared and the confusion was gone.

Her hair was as green as emeralds and her eyes were a deep amber, just as his were. A smile played on thin, pink lips which lit her entire face. Her name came back to him in a flurry of memories, some of which he was positive didn't belong to him at all.

'Ka…' His mouth struggled to form the words, 'Ka…tay…ah…' Kataya. Her name is Kataya. Despite the circumstances, he smiled at the familiarity of the name.

She reached out to touch his face, just as he willed. He knew that upon contact, he would know everything about her. It wasn't a sixth sense or whatnot, it was just pure instinct. He knew that he _needed_ to know everything about her.

After brief exposure from her touch, from fingertips as cold as ice, her aura burned far brighter for a second before she moved back into the middle of the room. She looked up, gave him another smile…

And then she was gone, replaced by the darkness he so desperately wished to escape. Once again, he was freefalling.

Another name played on his lips. 'Ichigo…'

But he already knew it was too late. The name faded to black, as did his hope. All sound was neutralised in a single instant.

Until…

The soft whisper of a melody fell upon him. The source was unknown.

"_Did I dream this belief?  
__Or did I believe this dream?  
__Now I will find relief…  
__I grieve."_

* * *

Then the feeling stopped as did the song. He was no longer falling. Wispy tendrils; materialisations of colour – arms, perhaps – wrapped around him and he was ascending. Ascending to the sky. It was all so different from the feeling of freefall…

The next thing he noticed was the noise. It crashed down on him and once more, his ears tingled from the super-massive sound – it was the opposite of the beautiful melody and silence he had witnessed beforehand. A shudder passed through him and he forced himself to open his eyes and face the outside world once more.

Shock flooded through him as his ashen amber irises met a pair of stunning azure eyes. The lenient form of Eustachia was present all around him and he gave in to her warmth.

'Kisshu-Kisshu, you should not be here…' She trailed off with a serious look on her face. They stopped ascending and a moment later, her feet touched solid ground.

Through the trauma, the events did not come to his waking mind and he was confused. Then, his subconscious gave into him and his memories were restored to his brain.

_Desperation. Darkness. Chase. Enclosing. Code. Incorrect. Denied. Frustration. Correct. Access. Materialisation. Near. Hull. Breach. Closer. Anger. Destroyed. Transport. Earth. Solid. Ground. Fight…_

_Fall._

He was on the brink of voicing a question that arose to his mind when his train of thought and moment was interrupted by two very familiar comrades of his. Pai and Tart veered closer and he turned, never feeling as relieved to see them as he did now. Both aliens looked concerned, the younger more so than the elder.

'Kish!' Tart yelled with his eyes wide as they approached. He raced over to him and was embraced all of a sudden by the mass of the small boy. His own eyes widened, then, as the shock faded, he let a small smile cross over his features and returned the gesture of affection.

When they parted, Pai acknowledged his presence with a curt nod. A gesticulation of which, Kish knew, was as affectionate as the elder alien would get. He felt honoured at Pai's intimation and nodded back. He then turned his attention back at the matter at hand, dismissing his thoughts.

Pai asked him the question that was on all three uninformed alien's minds, 'What are you doing here, Kisshu and what happened?' Once again, his answer was interrupted.

This time, it was from someone unexpected.

'Hey! Kisshu! What's all this about?' Taruto and Eustachia parted to reveal -

'Ichigo!' Kish's eyes widened with a new type of shock. He regained himself quickly after seeing her expression.

Pai's face hardened, 'What are you doing here, human scum?'

Ichigo looked taken aback. Her face was then distorted into a look of pure and unadulterated hatred and ire. 'I'm trying to figure out why your usually wasted plans were even more useless this time over.' She scowled, 'And who's this?' She pointed at Eustachia, who looked at her with a serene expression.

'I am Eustachia, the healer,' the alien female replied with ease. 'I assume, from the dialogue that has elapsed, that you are Momomiya Ichigo, also known as the leader of Tokyo Mew Mew and our sworn enemy.'

The Iriomote merged teenager was impressed and slightly knocked for six by the alien's knowledge and use of wording. All she could manage to retort back was a reflex action of asking, 'Yeah, what of it?'

Eustachia went on, answering her question in the process, '– I, however, have an insufficient part in the plans of such a military operation. This means I have no reason to neither dislike you nor act in any way uncourteous unless the lives of my patients are placed at risk, such as Master Kisshu here. So please, do not idly put aside this truce.'

Without another word to anyone else or so much as a brief farewell, she gracefully withdrew a device from her pocket – in the form of a basic remote control with a single button interface – and pressed down on the small mechanism, her hands still softly in contact with Kisshu. He was beamed aboard _Prometheus_ without hesitation, leaving Ichigo, Pai and Tart to wake in his dust.

* * *

Eustachia and Kish arrived in the confines of the infirmary barely a moment later when the beaming technology triggered by the remote control began operations by the nanosecond and enabled their arrival in such short time.

At first, Kish was worried Eustachia would go back for Tart and Pai straight away and he knew that when she did there would be an uproar despite the relieved and placid behaviour generated by the elder alien. Pai was strict in his teachings and even stricter in his punishment, so Kish expected a heavy berating.

However, she made no move to neither demand an explanation herself nor bring aboard the two others. He was extremely relieved and yet knew that the consequences were not yet prevented and would surely still be standing nonetheless.

For the moment he was safe and he decided that the moment was good enough to insist an explanation at Eustachia's enhanced powers – which could be activated and channelled even when theirs were disabled – and to answer any questions she might have involving the events prior to their arrival back to the ship.

The object of his attention was currently across the room, setting up various medical supplies to monitor his health. He grimaced, realising that a gruelling hour's process of adjustments and tests was punishment enough for his stepping out of line.

As Eustachia begun the procedure, the talk that they had been anticipating began. It started with a single: 'Tell me what happened.'

This enquiry was made by the female alien, who cut to the chase long before Kish was ready to build up his own queries. He frowned once more, just as she stuck an obnoxious looking sedative into his arm, obviously trying to calm him.

And so he began to fill her in with every detail of his turn of events, beginning with his awakening and moving on slowly to the threatening nature of the simulation room as well as his experiences there.

He then described the black tidal wave of chaos and death chasing him across the corridors and into the hull of the ship.

After briefly skimming over his arson attempt – of which he explained quite embarrassed at his actions – involving the power supply and how it disabled teleportation following his dematerialisation on Earth, Kish managed to fit in about the Chimera Anima yet was still uncomfortable to mention his state of mind at the time as well as the unknown power that had flooded through him as it had in the infirmary.

He drew an extremely large breath after finishing. Before Eustachia could open her mouth and continue to interrogate him, he asked her a question of his own after summing up the courage to do so in his lengthy explanation.

'How?'

She looked up at him, confused. 'How, what?'

Kish was not sure whether or not she was stalling or if she really had no clue of what he was on about.

He smirked, releasing a brief chuckle before saying; 'You know what. How were you able to bypass the barrier of our abilities and access them without the ship's help? Not even Pai knows how to successfully achieve that!'

Eustachia sighed and in that moment, Kish felt a chill pass through him. He was suddenly regretting being so forceful towards the fragile attendant.

He looked at her apologetically, concern arising to his usually mischievous and demanding personality, 'Sorry. I shouldn't have asked you such a–'

'–personal question?' She interrupted, finishing his sentence for him. He nodded. 'No, no it's alright. I know I've never really been open about my past, but I guess this is a situation I cannot weed myself out of.'

She smiled at him, shutting her eyes for an evanescent second. Yet he still saw the hurt that passed through him and knew that the subject was taboo in previous conversations.

However, she gave him safe passage in the story she was about to confide him in, 'It was five years ago. Winter, five years ago. Of course, Lithia's climates never really shift into warmth anymore, do they?'

Kish shot her a sad half-smile of his own. The outrageous weather conditions on Madrona that they had to survive underground through were enough to darken anybodies day. This built up his envy for the lives that humans had – a lush, beautiful planet and they did nothing but exhaust all of the Earth's resources.

Eustachia continued, 'I was young then. You would have only been ten summers old, would you not?' Without giving time for pause and for him to even manage a nod, she went on with the tale, 'There were rumours that a new borne virus had been spread, the pathogen effecting the female population only. As you most likely know, there were a lot of rumours of plague spread back then. It is a period of time we are not very proud of. Nonetheless, it was only until women began to die from a mysterious source that they started to work on a cure.

'A month or so later, after many more deaths being blamed on the lack of resources, the CelestGuild began to publicly voice their finding of a vaccination. Women were being bought in to be examined and given a free dose of the drug they called Ceasefire. A name bought upon the times of peace between Guilds and villages. It was to promote hope and fulfilment for all womankin.

'I was taken in. Weeks after, nothing happened. No sign of the viral strands, nothing. I was in full working order and utilising my good feeling to its full potential.'

She paused right then, taking a couple of deep breaths and placing an odd-looking medical thermostat in his mouth before continuing, 'Then I was approached by the CelestGuild once more, saying they had found something unusual in the blood sample I had supplied them with. They asked me an all round important question.'

Eustachia removed the thermostat after a few minutes. '"Will you dedicate yourself to the art of CelestGuild to better help womankin?" I was torn between my duties and my desire to help them. I eventually agreed after a lot of coaxing. The information they supplied me with was enormously surprising. Apparently my blood was able to adapt to high levels of Helleperyoxyln which just so happened to be the main ingredient in the Ceasefire concoction and the accelerate drug given to our people to build up our extraordinary mind and physical powers.'

'They began running test after test and injecting me with many doses of the drug, all at different levels of strength and concentration or dilution. The results were marvellous. However, as time passed by, the tests grew more harsh and torturous. The Helleperyoxyln doses were so frequent that my body began to get used to the intake and adaptation of the drug.'

She took another long, deep breath. 'Soon enough, I was addicted to it. When they found this out, they did more tests, more injections and more exercises to utilise my potential.'

'I never thought that the CelestGuild, the best leaders of our own race, could be so cruel. They left me for days, weeks without the drug. It was torture in its simplest form. I could have called it quits anytime and I should have done but I never realised how out of hand this would get. The thought of leaving never occurred to me because if I left, I wouldn't be able to cope without the drug and as you know, it only occurs in the rarest of plants – the Cherry Blossom.'

'I'm sure you can put two and two together at my volunteering of this mission. My part is not only to provide my abilities as a healer and keep you silly boys out of trouble, but it is also to recover samples of the drug Helleperyoxyln in the Tokyo Cherry Blossoms for further analyses. In return, my supplies are endless.'

She stopped speaking. Kish took the moment to retort with his own question, 'Does that mean that Helleh-pery-pro-oxy-proxy-lyn or whatever the drug is called is the reason why you can access your large-scale abilities without use of a machine?'

He received a curt nod from the nurse, who seemed to be dwelling in an eternity of memories and regrets, as told from the look on her face. He sighed, reaching out to her in his mind.

Before he could muster up the courage to comfort her, her soft voice broke through his reverie, beckoning another question, 'How were you able to control the Chimera Anima?'

His amber eyes darkened at the question and he explained about the unknown power source that let him tap into its awesome potential energy and help him prevent the large-scale attack.

She listened intensively. Upon his finishing, she began into a speculation straight away. 'This power source could be the answer to all of our problems.'

He frowned, 'What do you mean?'

'Well, in a sense, all of _your_ problems... It seems to me that the full blown hallucinations you have had of the black tidal wave and shadows creeping upon you as well as inability of controlling your motor functions such as walking as well as the added toxin in your blood are all caused by the same thing. This power source.'

Kish's eyes widened. He had never seen the events in the same light before as he did right then. It all came together in a mind-shattering instant. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

_Of course. Of course._

It seemed so right. How could he have not had thought of it before?

_The power source is the virus._

He almost doubled over from the sudden gut feeling in his stomach. The instinct was one he had not felt for a long while.

Pure and unaltered dread.

His eyes were wide with terror. He felt the strength ebbing out of him slowly.

'I-it-it's here.' Eustachia's warm hands came to his shoulders and in the heat of the moment they were freezing cold. He jerked away, racing across the room and away from the harmless nurse.

'What's here? Kisshu-Kisshu. It's me. It's Eustachia. Tell me…' She walked up to him. He took another step back. And another until he felt his back lean against the cold, steel wall. He slid down it and into a foetal position, eyes still wide and amber. 'What. Is Here.'

He looked up at her, as if seeing her for the first time.

'_Who… Who is she?'_

'_What is she doing here?'_

'_Is she a monster?'_

'_She IS a monster!'_

'_She's trying to hurt me!'_

'_Please, stop this!'_

'_Anyone, please!'_

'THE SHADOW! YOU'RE THE SHADOW! STAY AWAY FROM MEEEEEE!' His hands moved up to cover his ears as he screamed and screamed, trying to fight the migraine and pain that flooded through his senses.

He directed all his anger and rage into one source. The wide-eyed nurse realised this a second later and still had time to make her move, of which she did with utmost precision.

Time slowed.

Kisshu looked up at Eustachia with round, amber eyes.

She stared straight back at him, equally as stunned with her beautiful blue irises.

And then… his irises changed. Amber. Crimson. Amber. Crimson. Which one were they really? It was unknown to him in this moment.

He lashed out with his mind in a single instant.

TARGET ELIMINATED.

Upon hearing the reassuring voice in his mind, not even once doubting its motive, the noise stopped and the silence was a refuge, as was the black. It seemed the one thing he had wanted to escape was now his safe haven. He let it take him.

As he slipped into unconsciousness, he didn't see the yellow-orange barrier erected around a figure standing before him in black and white nurse's attire.

Eustachia lowered the shield, eyes heavy with sorrow.

'Kisshu-Kisshu.' She knelt down to touch the face of the unmoving and unconscious figure.

'What have they done to you?' She reached out and brushed his cheek with her fingertips before injecting him with another round of sedative, which should enable his sleep to last at least half of a day.

And then, she began the forever gruelling task of repairing the broken locator beacon in the _Teleportation Room_.

* * *

Ichigo made her way back towards the place where her friends were congregating after the attack. Seeing that they were all adorned with their usual attire instead of that of their Mew outfits, Ichigo followed suit quickly.

Her Mew Ichigo battle-suit was replaced swiftly with a cute, casual design. On her feet, she wore a pair of hot pink sneakers with loosely crafted socks overlaying the tops of them. Her slender figure was clad in a pair of black short-shorts and she wore a pink, sleeveless top with her red cat bell around her neck and hot pink and black ribbons in her hair.

The Mew leader was surprised at the level of respect the two aliens had for her after the healer, Eustachia and Kish had left. In return for saving them, Ichigo was able to extract information about the event that occurred.

However, speculation reigned over both parties as the actual cause of the peculiar events had not yet been discovered. Pai's hypothesis had been factual enough to be correct and he had to explain it many times for the strawberry-haired heroine to understand.

They had also made it quite clear that after the conversation had expired and they left the venue, they would no longer be as friendly. Ichigo's ears seemed to droop right then as she realised that if they had not been enemies, they would be valuable friends to the Mews and Earth.

Unwillingly, she had left them to go back to her friends.

In all actuality, she had wanted to learn more about what had happened to Kish, as his behaviour was beginning to become suspicious to both parties, but every time she had asked about him, the aliens had politely declined, changing the subject as if it were unspeakable to reveal information about their colleague.

She raced over to the five quite quickly, merging into their circle of congress ready and able to tell them what she had learnt from their alien foes.

Pudding was the first to speak upon her arrival, 'What did you learn, na no da?' A beam was present on the small girls face but upon asking her next question, Ichigo was surprised to see the usually energetic female to wear a small, concerned frown, 'Is Taru-Taru alright?'

Slightly taken aback by the question and yet smiling at the youngest Mew's innocence, Ichigo said, 'Yes. Both Tart and Pai are fine,' she also directed her answer to another Mew, Lettuce, who had also looked oddly concerned. Her rebuff was met with a blush of embarrassment and a small, amused smile.

A smile lit up Ichigo's face in retaliation to the newfound knowledge of their affections. She nodded to them, still grinning. Both blushed even more so.

They all looked at her expectantly, awaiting her information. Ichigo frowned and tried to remember exactly what they had told her.

She took a deep, deep breath before beginning. 'They didn't tell me much, but I did find out that they were unable to teleport because of an error of arson bought onto the power unit enabling them to dematerialise on the molecular level and be recreated on the destination end of their link, therefore disabling the teleportation process and rendering them incapable of their extreme and advanced physical abilities.'

Everyone just stared at her in shock at the level of knowledge she had seemed to acquire from standing for five minutes around their foe. Then they all sweatdropped.

Lettuce managed to break the silence nervously, her voice full of hesitation even at uttering the slightest voicing of, 'A-A-Ano, Ichigo?'

A blush of embarrassment began to creep up on Ichigo. She frowned and then shrugged, 'That's what Pai told me.' This statement seemed to be enough for them to handle, unlike the possibility that Ichigo knew words like "dematerialise", "molecular" and "teleportation process." The cat-girl glared at them all when she realised this.

Before she could rebut with a crude remark involving all of them, a rubber mallet and a pack of ice cubes, Mint stalked up to her and, promptly after her arrival next to Ichigo, decked her across the head. Hard.

Ichigo blinked in surprise and, when the pain hit home, there was a throbbing pain in the place where she had been hit, on the back of her skull, and she knew that a headache was on its way to her poor, unexpecting head.

All the Ultramarine Lorikeet said to justify her actions was the word, 'Idiot.'

Ichigo looked generally confused. Usually Mint was hostile, yes, but she wouldn't openly just hit her and call her names when she had done nothing wrong.

Ichigo paused, processing information.

_Oh, wait. Yes she would._

She began to whinge to Mint who wasn't hearing any of it, 'What was that for?' She received another scowl from her so-called "friend" (now she wasn't so sure) before a long-winded explanation was on its way.

'Because you deserved it.' She started. Ichigo had no idea what she was talking about… how had she deserved _that_? 'You were out with your perfect boyfriend while we had to do all the work at the café and you didn't even leave us a note to your whereabouts.'

Oh.

The cat-girl was fuming. Her anger was so evident on her face right then that Mint just smirked and walked away with Zakuro, who offered to sit on a bench in the shade after the hot sun had beat down upon them all.

Not willing to be the victim of Ichigo's ramblings, Lettuce smiled hesitantly towards her then turned to pudding, the anxiety more than obvious on her pallid face. 'A-ano, Pudding-san, perhaps we should clean up some of the mess that people left in the evacuation?'

The smallest, yellow-orange Mew grinned in delight, 'I can patrol from the trees, na no da!' Both Mew's left quite quickly, deserting Ichigo with only Ryou's presence.

Ichigo grimaced and turned to the remaining ally standing next to her. She broke.

'You're going to berate me now… go ahead! Everyone else does it so why not just make everything a whole lot worse?' She snapped, feeling the anger pulsating through her system.

Ryou looked up at her, a deadpan expression on his face. As their eyes met, Ichigo felt taken aback at the raw sadness dwelling in their azure depths. She simply stared at him in mild shock as he spoke to her quite softly.

'Good job, Momomiya Ichigo' His deadpan look faded, replacing one of which adorned a small half-smile. He continued, 'This world doesn't deserve superheroes like you. You're too good for us. So us ordinary humans?'

Ichigo felt close to tears at this startling revelation and the sorrow entwined throughout Ryou's words. 'We're lucky to have you here.'

And then he left. Ichigo was certain that was as close to civil she would get from the teenager, obviously at war with the unknown events and things present in his torn past.

As she watched him walk away, she felt like she was really seeing him for the first time ever and then her mind asked her a question that only served to confuse her: _did I really know him at all?_

She was abandoned with all her confusing thoughts and emotions. But then, unexplainably, a smile crossed over her features when she realised that she wasn't alone in all of it. _I have friends… and they're great to me… _

A gentle gust of wind passed by her and she could have sworn that, when it passed by her, a beautiful melody could be heard on its wake.

"_The car that we ride in  
__The home we reside in  
__The face that we hide in  
__The way we are tied in  
__As life carries on and on and on and on  
__Life carries on and on and on…"_

* * *

**End Note:** Omigod. The ending of this chapter was so hard to write, only because I had finished it then lost the entire section of it due to some stupid five-o'clock-in-the-morning mistake so I had to once again rewrite it. This time, the ending is longer but I still preferred the original with all of it's kooky explanations.

I tried to duplicate it off memory as best as I could. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Love,  
Exangeline.


	11. Escapade

**Disclaimer:** I'll give you five cents to clean my toilet. Oh, and I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. Yeah, can't forget that now, can we? Grrr…

**Note:** Don't you just _loooooove_ being confused? Kidding. Hope you like the update.

Lyrics by _Ra_.

* * *

Chapter 11 – Escapade.

_I see fallen angels  
__As I'm walking in the streets  
__Silently preparing  
__For what they'll do to me_

Consciousness. His eyes opened and he could feel again. He could feel… pain. And confusion. There was so much confusion.

He groped blindly in front of him, even though his eyes could see. He saw, but he didn't comprehend. He could never comprehend. His mind was so confused that everything meant nothing and nothing meant everything he didn't know.

Dark. It was dark and damp but he didn't know. He was in a cell. A small cell. _Only… Only a bed._ A small bed. And water. _Small glass of water. Liquid. Easily manipulated._

He wanted. He didn't know what he wanted but he wanted. He wanted… to cry. To scream. To do something to make it stop. Make what stop? Nothing. Confusion. Make it stop. Make it all stop. But he couldn't scream. He couldn't cry because his voice wasn't there. It didn't come. It wouldn't form. It was the drug…

Sleeping drug.

Immediately, he wanted the blissful ignorance bought by his sleeping state. It wasn't for him to decide when his body shut down and when it didn't, but maybe if he just lay down and stayed perfectly still, maybe he would fall back into unconsciousness.

Maybe, if he was lucky.

He had learnt, long ago, that luck was but an illusion, as was beauty and status and anger. It wasn't wise to believe in any of them.

Only the ties that bind kept him from destruction. Only fate. Through the confusion, this was the only thing that made sense. The only thing he knew. The rest was nothing.

Nothing. _Everything he didn't know._

He was alive, but he was but a host. He was a host and a carrier of destiny until destiny decided to destroy him. He was expendable.

His life didn't matter. Only the mission.

_The mission. The mission. All that mattered._

He could feel the wake of the seizure. The _toxin,_ he thought_, the toxin. Eustachia._ Eustachia? Who was Eustachia? _Doctor. My doctor._

Not here. Nowhere. Not there. Or there. Or here. Or in the corner. Or inside. Or…

Outside? Where was outside? Was outside near?

_Shaking. Can't stop shaking. Hurt. Can't stop hurting._

'Can't be saved. Don't deserve. Can't feel. No backup.'

_Pain. Shaking. More. More hurt. More shaking. Can't stop._

'Suicide. It's suicide.'

_LOOK UP._

He looked up. He saw, he felt, he heard.

But he didn't comprehend.

His eyes widened.

But he didn't understand.

A shadow approached. A voice, a terrifying voice, a familiar voice, yelling.

So much yelling.

'DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!?'

Kish screamed.

* * *

In the infirmary, Eustachia was placing a vial of clear, colourless liquid into the disposal, placing her hands along the circular sink and observing the cool, dark metal with a sigh. Everything was failing. Before, on Madrona, it was so easy.

But here…

Easy seemed ridiculous here. In orbit around Earth they had nobody. Nobody to help them. Nobody to rely on. Nobody. They were alone and scared and hurt.

_Kish was hurt,_ her mind corrected, _we are unharmed_. Except for the burden of grief. She didn't have the heart to tell Taruto, the youngest alien, when he came in and asked how Kish was, that their friend was only getting worse and would continue to get worse, unless there was a cure to what seemed an impossible virus.

By all means, it should not exist. She had said this over and over but the evidence was there. It _did_ exist and it was in Kish. Kisshu Haikari – one of the three that she had sworn to protect.

Pai. Tart. Kish.

They were why she was on the ship and why she was on _Operation Tauri_. Without them, there was no other meaning – no other reason why she should be there. None.

And she had failed them. She had failed Kish. She failed him when she couldn't cure his illness. She had failed Tart when she couldn't give him good news. She had failed Pai when… she had failed him _so many times_. All of them.

She had failed Madrona, by not keeping them safe. She thought this and said this a lot, but Pai often rebutted that on this mission, they were not to be kept safe. To be kept safe would be to flee and not fight. Fighting always endangered lives. Fighting enabled they were not kept safe.

And Kisshu. Kish would look at her and he would say, 'You are extraordinary. But you are not perfect. You cannot cure every illness on every planet, no-one can. But you can sure as hell try. I believe in you, we all do. Everyone, even though it doesn't seem like it all the time. We believe in each other because it is all we can believe in. It is all we have.'

Pause. 'And it's all we ever will have.'

She wondered, in that moment, if he was thinking about the Earth Girl. What was her name? Shego? Chigo? Ichigo? Yes. Ichigo. Japanese, an Earth dialect, for the word "Strawberry." And a strawberry she was.

She understood why Kish had fallen for someone such as she. She had power. Not the power of becoming Mew Ichigo, but another power. One unseen. Spiritual, maybe. She had abilities well beyond her own knowledge and they were great. But she was still not unstoppable. She was very well stoppable.

_Just like Kisshu._

Kisshu, she confided, was her favourite. Always had been, always would. Of course she valued Pai and Tart but Kish… he was different. He was so innocent yet so guilty. He was so ready but he was so unprepared. He was so happy yet he was so sad. He was so angry yet he was so peaceful.

And he was so easy but he was so difficult.

She was knocked out of her thoughts by the most terrifying of events. A scream. A scream coming from the room not too far from here. The room that held…

'Kisshu!' He screamed. It only lasted for a brief couple of seconds but it rang in her ears. She immediately sprung to life, only stopping to secure her medical kit. Then she ran, ran like she had never ran before.

She stopped in front of the door. The code-pad asked for the correct combination. In the rush, she had forgotten what it was. She entered the first set of numbers that entered her head.

1.8.5.7.2.5. CODE INVALID.

There was another scream from deep inside of the room. Her heartbeat increased. Faster and faster it thumped until its rhythm was above average. She screwed her eyes shut, racking her brains for the answer, the combination.

Kisshu.

Her eyes opened…

And she knew.

1.1.9.1.9.8. Kish. It was the code and always had been.

11 was K. 9 was I. 19 was S. 8 was H. Each letter of the alphabet had a so-called numbered partner. A was 1. B was 2. C was 3 and so forth. 119198 meant Kish in code.

She would have laughed at the irony that Kisshu was in a cell that had his name as the code in numbers, if she wasn't completely and utterly terrified for his safety.

The door opened. The code was accepted.

When she entered, Kisshu was against the wall, still clad in the Madronan hospital attire, his green hair out of their tresses (a possible medical hazard if they left the boy in possession of the hair-ties that could be used as a means to create a noose and therefore cause his death, silly but it was a usual precaution) and his eyes wide and glazed over.

Eustachia knelt down to his level, saddened by his state. He looked at her, eyes still regaining their width but as if he was seeing her for the first time. The look almost shattered her heart beyond repair. She had always thought herself a guardian for this boy and his sister but how could she when she let him get this sick?

She held his face in her hands. He made no move to reject or refuse her or the gesture, but blinked in slight surprise. _A reaction,_ she thought, _a good sign in the least._

'Kisshu-Kisshu…' She whispered, watching if she gained another reaction from speaking his name. She hoped – oh how she hoped – that he would speak to her about the things that they used to forever be bickering about.

Please, Kisshu. Come to me. Stay with me. Don't loose yourself like before…

He whispered, 'Do you know who you are?'

Then, the look of distress faded from his amber eyes. They lost all focus and colour, the pupils fading into his irises. A moment later, he fell, unconscious, into her arms.

Eustachia stared at his inert form, a frown crossing over her lovely features. At that moment, they mirrored that of the time when she heard the most sorrowful news that her ears had ever heard.

She opened her medical kit and took out an empty syringe and removed the needle from its package. She injected a deep, gold liquid that looked so much like the colour of Kisshu's eyes that she almost stopped completely to dwell in the empty, faded look that epitomized his most recent action.

_Kisshu…_

Without further ado, she injected him with the needle, watching as the contents was emptied from the syringe and into his bloodstream. He did not flinch nor waver. He was completely dormant. For a moment, she wondered if he had even stopped breathing, but then she turned his body around and saw the soft rise and fall of his chest and she was reassured that he at least was alive.

Her thoughts flashed back to the nature of the toxin floating in his bloodstream.

And then she wondered; was it more torturous to keep him alive…

…than it was for him to die?

* * *

Eustachia left the room. She felt close to tears, albeit she would never show nor admit it. As she exited, arming the door once more, her thoughts of pain and burdens disappeared when a single, deep voice spoke.

'How is he?'

She turned to face the alien that she already knew was there. Pai. She spoke the name in her mind and out. Her voice was but a whisper and it took a moment before she could reply to the question he had asked her.

It took more out of her than she realised and she said, 'He's not doing well at all, since the incident with the Chimera Anima failed…'

Pai's eyes faded from concerned to accusing, 'You told Taruto that he was in good condition and he would be fighting with us soon.'

Eustachia nodded, 'A lie. I didn't feel that telling him the truth was such a good idea, I mean, considering his age, and–'

'His age?' Pai mused, looking at her with his dark eyes. 'Regardless, you have no right to lie to him about such a serious matter. He is stronger than you think. Than we all think. To not tell him the truth about Kisshu would make him feel worthless, as if he is not yet worthy of our trust. And then he would try to prove himself.'

A sad smile crossed her face. Pai continued, 'Like you once did.'

Eustachia looked up, their eyes met and the topic was dropped with the last word of it, 'I will tell him, then.' She then asked another question floating in her mind, 'Do you have an update?' She was hopeful.

'We will be able to get the Transportation Machine functional in a few hours. Tart is observing the result of the first test now.'

Eustachia nodded, deeming that this was good news, and then left. Before she completely vacated the area, she turned, and smiled.

And then she was gone.

Pai gave her a rare and almost unseen smile. It faded a moment later and did not return. She did not see it, nor did anyone else.

For a moment, the violet-haired alien stared at the dead bolted, armed door of which one of their crew was held captive by his own peers.

'It's for your own good, Kisshu.' Kish, he knew, couldn't hear it. But the resolution strengthened his resolve, as did the smile from Eustachia, the small nurse.

He stared out into the corridor after averting his gaze from the cell door. In his minds eye, he saw another figure walking down the hall. Her back faced him. Then she turned, and smiled at him, emerald eyes shining.

He frowned and, a moment later, the image ceased. He shook his head. Hallucinations? Fantasies? Surely he did not believe that he desired the girl…

'I do not have feelings for such a human.' Then he turned and he left.

But the statement was weak, even to his ears.

* * *

Within the confines of his cell. Kisshu Haikari's eyes snapped open. His senses were finely tuned and adjusted quickly to his surroundings. No longer was he the wreck of the person he had become when he last opened his deep, amber eyes.

Eyes that, a moment later, turned to crimson red.

If, by some amazing talent, one was able to see within his bloodstream and magnify what they saw by the millions, the gold liquid that had been inserted so casually into his blood stream had now faded into a solid, silver type fluid and could be seen travelling his bloodstream effortlessly, being carried by the tide of red blood that looked not unlike that of a humans.

But as the hue in his eyes faded and changed, the silver fluid disappeared.

Disappeared. Not destroyed slowly in his bloodstream, not fading into the mesh of red liquid. Disappeared. Disappeared as if it had never existed.

If the cause was gone, of course there was no effect. The sedative which was meant to calm the ill alien and prolong his sleep had disappeared; therefore he was wide awake…

…and not so calm, either.

Kisshu blinked. His eyes transformed back to their original and natural state. Irises that were a beautiful gold in hue were now surrounding a dark pupil, the colour of death itself. It was how it had always been and always _should_ be.

Without fear nor hesitation, Kish stood. His feet, bare of any shoe or sock, were firmly placed on the ground. He stood tall and vaguely proud in his stature, body arched like that of a warrior.

He looked around, taking in his surroundings. _A cell,_ he thought without hindrance, unlike his previous state of mind.

He looked up after registering where he was. The dark grey, solid roof was the only thing present above him. The lights that illuminated the cell were located in the walls, not on the roof.

_So I don't use it as an instrument for hanging myself, _he registered and understood the fact with meticulousness.

A smirk crossed over his otherwise deadpan features when his mind was filled with a plan that was unknown to him. Soon, he understood and embraced it.

His eyes turned crimson once more, this time without his blinking. First, they faded to orange and then to red and then do the darkness – like the colour of the blood circulating his body. Crimson.

In that moment, his dark, red stare seemed to be too much for the solid, cemented wall to comprehend and resist. It faltered…

And then the roof crumbled.

* * *

A horribly loud siren rang at the very moment that Pai had placed the last screw into place on the Teleportation machine in the control room. The inert lights on either sides of the control room door jumped to life, their dark surfaces lighting to a vibrant red illumination that screamed: "Danger."

Tart turned to him, his amber eyes growing wide and confused, 'What's going on?' He bellowed over the sirens.

Pai's eyes narrowed. The only possible reason that such an alarm would sound…

Well, there were three options:

One, they were about to crash.

Two, they were about to explode _then_ crash.

Three, Kish had just escaped.

'It's Kisshu,' He said.

Eustachia made her arrival right then.

She skidded to a halt and faced the two, male aliens, looking at her for answers. Her shock and confusion mirroring that of Pai and Tart's as she exclaimed, 'Kish has escaped!'

* * *

Kish walked. He moved one foot after the other. Each step made his legs seem heavier and more impossible to move. His eyes felt heavy and sore, as did his heart.

He had no idea where he was walking, nor did he particularly care. His only wish at the moment was…

It was…

'Ichigo.'

His desire to see the cat-girl was stronger than ever. He didn't just want it, he needed it. He knew that she was the one; she was the only one that could stop this.

She was the only one who could stop him. Before it was too late.

Before it came. Before _they_ came.

He blinked and had no idea what he was thinking. Nowadays, he wasn't himself. He didn't feel like him. Sometimes, he felt like he was Kisshu, others he felt like he was…

The virus.

It was in him and it could control him. He shuddered, more from the cold than from fear. He had left fear in the snow when he escaped the ship. He couldn't bear to be there anymore, in the cell, with them watching him. With them waiting.

The snow was all around him. It surrounded him. It was cold, so cold.

It was so cold that if he stayed there, he would freeze. He would stop. He didn't want to stop. He wanted to be and he wanted to breathe…

…And he wanted to see her. Ichigo.

He closed his eyes. One moment he was in an unknown street, surrounded by falling snowflakes, the next he was in another street, also surrounded by falling snowflakes, but the street was familiar somehow.

He turned the corner. He walked. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven.

STOP.

He stopped, obeying the voice that had plagued his thoughts, giving him ideas and directions that he knew he shouldn't follow, but he did anyway, blindly.

Kisshu focused his senses. In his minds eye, he saw Ichigo Momomiya – her pristine, cream face, dark, brown eyes and auburn red hair. The image wavered and then changed.

It was a bedroom. He didn't understand why it was being projected to him until he saw a figure from the bathroom emerge in a pair of pink, strawberry patterned pyjamas. It was Ichigo. He had seen the room and the house once before.

It, he realised, was Ichigo's home.

He tilted his head to the right and looked up. The image that met his eyes was the exact same as the one that he had just seen in his mind.

A smile crossed over his thin, pale lips. He pressed them together to form a single, smooth line, turned upward at the sides.

He was so close to her, and yet so far. Before he realised what he was, in fact, doing, his feet were moving in the direction of the side of her house towards her bedroom, with the small, one-person balcony right next to the old, oak tree.

When he glimpsed through the window, he looked up – and he saw.

Sitting at the window-seat with a cup of boiling hot chocolate, was the object of his desires. Her gaze was glazed over and she looked out the window thoughtfully. She didn't see him.

But he saw her.

'Ichigo.'

* * *

Ichigo pressed her face up against the glass of her bedroom window. She sat quite contently in the large window-seat, a mug of hot chocolate in her winter pyjama clad hands. A small smile crossed over her features as she sipped the beverage in delight.

Outside, snowflakes were falling from the sky. They caked around her windowsill and on every available, unsheltered surface.

She was mesmerised by the visage of bright white snow on top the dark wooden balcony, for a long moment she watched the scene play out before her. It was another of natures many miracles.

A shiver ran down her spine right then. She huddled closer to the warmth radiating from the hot chocolate and bought her head in for another sip. 'Mmmmh…' She moaned in joy upon swallowing the sugary drink.

It tasted like heaven, she concluded, seventh heaven…

That's when it happened. A small sound, usually not detectable by normal humans, filled the room. But, due to her sensitive hearing gained in the process of being merged with the Iriomote Wildcat, Ichigo heard the reverberation as clear as day.

She turned her head to the source and, upon seeing the green-haired alien staring at her from across the room, immediately wished she hadn't.

Her thoughts as of late had been occupied far too often by her extraterrestrial foe, ever since the incident of which he had fallen off the Tokyo Tower, only to be saved by the mysterious, female alien doctor, of whom they had never laid eyes on until now.

_What was her name?_ Ichigo's mind tried to recall. _Eustachia? Yes. That's it. Eustachia._

The name was beautiful, as was the one who bore it. She had found the nurse to be far prettier than she expected, considering the company she kept.

Kish banged on the window, quite lightly, yet again. Ichigo looked up at him. Their eyes met and soon, she found herself resting her hot chocolate on her bedside table and, with a single, large push, swinging open the window.

She looked at him, a slight frown on her pretty features. She crossed her arms as they stared each other down in silence.

That is, until she asked. 'Why did I let you in?'

Kisshu responded to her question by fainting.

* * *

**End Note:** Oh my god. Finally. I have finally, after the millions of seconds it has taken me to complete this damn chapter, finished it! I am so relieved…

…That is, until it's time to write the next one. Which is, well, now.

Please, heed my self-promoting – review my story. Tell me it sucks so I can go to bed, eternally relieved and then be rushed to the hospital the next day to be treated for a Cinnamon Eclipse Mint overdose.

Kidding. But those lollies really are addictive…

Love,  
Exangeline.


	12. Revelations

**Disclaimer:** Don't own TMM OR half of this chapter. One such idea is the _oh-my-god-kish-has-just-fainted-on-Ichigo's-porch-and-now-has-a-fever_ sort of gist which I, of course, leniently borrowed from **Cruelfeline's** wonderfully crafted and totally original (cough, unlike mine, cough) fanfiction entitled "Healing," of which we all know and worship and continually add more and more reviews to the shrine of wonderful story writing and IchigoxKish fluffness that is the review box.

Yes. My boyfriend tells me that I am absolutely and completely irresistible in the straight-jacket that I so commonly wear.

Or, well, am forced to wear by those big, tough, security guard like people who say I am a threat to anything and everything including them so, one time, when I head-butted one in the face, he had to be taken to hospital even though the wound was minor and it didn't even bleed.

Apparently, his death – hey, wait, since when did he die? – meant the start of the apocalypse, which was foretold that for forty days and forty nights it would rain poodles. I just looked up at the other, really, really strong, buff men and asked them if I could have my free phone call.

Then I was like, _whoops, that's when you're in prison._ But they let me have it, probably because I threatened to head-butt them and they were so scared that they let me have _two_ free phone calls.

Haha. So then I called my –

Oh. Right. Story. Harcesis.

Zipping it.

**Note:** As said in the disclaimer.

Lyrics by _Within Temptation_.

* * *

Chapter 12: Revelations.

_As your true colours show  
__A dangerous sight  
__It's in your eyes  
__See the truths that you've buried inside_

Ichigo hoisted the unconscious figure into her arms. She groaned under his weight, even as a Mew she wasn't _that_ strong. A feeling of sorrow crept up on her right then as she saw his expression. He looked as if he was in pain.

She reached out and stroked one of his stray, green locks of hair. She tucked it behind his alien ears and then returned to the task at hand. After getting used to the dead weight in her arms, she managed to hop over the window-seat and onto her bed, where she placed the alien boy.

Her hand immediately flew to his forehead. She gasped, for a temperature so cold outside, his forehead was burning. A look of worry surpassed her features, concern bubbling in her stomach and throat.

The outcome seemed ridiculous, even to herself, who had encountered many strange and uncommon events involved with being a member of Tokyo Mew Mew.

A fever. He had a fever.

She could not spend so much valuable time dwelling on the odd situation she was in. Ichigo stood after securing Kish's position on her bed and ran into her bathroom, emerging moments later with a bath towel damp by cold tap water.

In the moments beforehand, she had not contemplated what would happen if she left Kish well enough alone with an alien version of a fever. She had not considered the variables associated with his race and how the sickness would affect him.

As she stood in the threshold of her bathroom, staring at her bed in complete and utter shock, all these thoughts swarmed into her mind.

And yet, no matter how many times she told herself it was real – that it was completely and utterly true – she couldn't quite believe it…

Fire.

Her bed was on fire.

For a moment she got lost in the beautiful embers surrounding her room. It reminded her of the dream she had of which she had ended up Astral Projecting. That same dream had also had Kish present in it.

She swore at her nativity. She had let her mind wander when the situation was more than serious. Yet what could she do? If she entered the wall of fire, she would die.

Her eyes widened. So much that she felt they would pop out of her head if she tried to open them any wider.

Her bed… Kisshu had been on her bed. He was in the middle of it all. Defenceless.

In that moment, it did not matter to her that Kish was her enemy or that he would destroy her life and everyone she loved in an instant if he had the power against her – in fact, she wasn't sure she really believed that anymore, considering the moments they had had together – she couldn't let him die.

No… She _wouldn't_ let him die.

'Kisshu!'

From within the fire, the alien's amber eyes snapped open. His irises were crimson red.

The fire ceased.

* * *

There was nothing left of it.

Ichigo opened her eyes. The temperature of the room had just spiralled down without indication. She blinked, staring in surprise at the figure on her bed.

She could see him as clear as day. There were no remains of the fire. No evidence to tell that it was ever there. There happened to be no embers or ash or burning on neither her bedroom floor nor her bed-sheets. They were still the same strawberry pink hue they had always been.

The Wildcat raced towards the figure of Kish, lying on the bed. His eyes were open and his breathing was stable. She sighed in relief, realising that she cared more for his safety than that of her room or the house, even.

Her thoughts scared her. Since when had she felt so strongly for Kish?

A cough was emitted from deep within his throat which forced any train of thought out of her system. Alarmed, Ichigo helped him sit up. He coughed three more times before stopping and slumping into her. She picked up the towel she had placed under the water and pressed the cold material to his forehead. Kish shuddered at the unexpected chill derived from this action.

The bough of coughing began once more after a minute's silence and recovery. Ichigo's eyes immediately grew concerned once more as she mothered him, dabbing the sweat of the top of his head and letting him catch his breath back.

This, however, didn't seem to be enough. She had bought out a thermometer along with the towel and she placed it gently in his mouth. After allocating three minutes for the machine to check his temperature, she removed the thermostat and observed its result.

She almost had an embolism at the outcome.

It was way, way too hot. To make things worse, his temperature was rising with every passing moment. There was really only one alternative she had to consider – bringing down his core temperature.

And, of course, there was only one way to do such a thing and that was to take him into her lavatory and plunge him into a foot of freezing cold water. Or, well, that's what she decided to do.

'Can you walk?' Ichigo asked, concern rising to her voice. The alien boy didn't respond. He just blinked at her, amber eyes wide and full of…

Fear.

_Kisshu? What are you afraid of? _She felt like speaking, but the words wouldn't come.

Wordlessly, he stood. He took a step forward, shakily. However, his feet almost collapsed from underneath him. Ichigo managed to capture his waist a moment before killing time. He looked up at her, into her eyes once more and she could have sworn that the look in his deep, yellow irises was one of gratitude.

Ichigo wrapped his hand around her neck. Together, they managed to make their way to the threshold of the bathroom. Somehow. The time that passed was slow and painful and yet she could hardly remember the trek – but she sure as hell felt it. And, she was sure, so could Kish.

He had rested his weight against her; not knowing what else there was to do. So Ichigo did almost all of the work in the matter, but not exactly the entire feat. He managed to move his feet enough and, relying on her to steady him, push hard enough to make progress.

What seemed to be an eternity later, they made their way towards the rim of the bath-tub. Ichigo gently pushed the alien boy into its surface and spun the water on full force. At first, he looked pained at the change of temperature, but the emotions portrayed on his foreign, pale features soon changed.

His eyes grew heavy. His body became limp but he was not unconscious. Not yet. His eyes flickered up to meet Ichigo's as she observed the water flow. His mouth curved slightly and his face looked as if they were the epitome of calm. As she stared at him, she wasn't sure whether or not it was an act.

An act… of what? What motive would he have against her? He had told her so many times that she was the one for him, that he loved her and would take her to paradise? Was this a lie, or did he really speak the truth?

Was he really to blame in the situation? Or was it Ichigo, forever doubting him and his love? She had never really or truly believed that he loved her until that fateful night of which he whispered the sentence that she seemed to be forever thinking about…

'_It's one life for a million,' he began, seriously not wanting to have this conversation, but he couldn't teleport unless Ichigo released him, otherwise he would end up taking her with him. 'My family was executed just before my arrival here, which is why I took the job.'_

_His eyes reopened, filled with sorrow. 'I thought it would be a suicide mission._

Was he really prepared to die for his beliefs? To die for his world?

To die for her?

She watched as the bath filled to it's peak. She spun the dials to a stop and slowly applied a wet sponge to the alien's forehead. 'Do you have any idea what's wrong with you?' She asked him, her voice low and grave and with a hint of apprehension she spoke.

He didn't reply.

'Kisshu?' She whispered, shaking his shoulders slightly. 'Kisshu?' She said, voice getting louder. She shook him again. His closed eyes opened slowly.

He spoke, 'I-Ichigo. I-I thought you were a dream.' His voice was far lower than her whisper. Yet, with her sharpened senses, she could hear him as clear as if he were yelling. 'I'm glad – so glad.' He moved a pale, shaking hand to touch her face.

In the next moment, he drifted back into unconsciousness. Ichigo just stared at him, her surprise written all over her face. Kisshu's hand had long since fallen from her face the moment he fell back to sleep, but her face burnt in ecstasy like he was still holding it.

_Why? What does this mean? _She said, referring to her feelings. The feelings, she realized, she could no longer ignore. _Why Kish?_

Another, more urgent question arose.

_What do I do?_

Kish was unconscious. He obviously had no idea what was going on neither, she realized, did she. Both parties were completely ignorant to what would happen if the alien fever would be allowed to continue to spread. Her mind flashed back to the fire that she had seen. It had been there, she was sure of it. She hadn't been hallucinating.

Had she?

Ichigo shook her head. No. She definitely saw it. They were definitely there.

Then it hit her full force, the danger of what could occur. She had an alien in her grasp with a sickness that she didn't know how to cure and who had almost set her entire house on fire without knowledge of how or why. Not only could he kill himself, but he could take down her and her parents and their house with it.

I need help, she decided. But from who?

Then, her mind flashed back to a particular, deep red stone.

'_If you ever need me… just use this.' He handed something to her, and then he disappeared. Flames erupted from where he once stood._

At first she hadn't know what the object was, until…

'_I'm here to give you something. You left it in the dream realm.' He held up the red stone he had left her with previously._

_Ichigo couldn't help but blurt out: 'What is it?'_

_The figure, of which she still hadn't thought up a name for, cocked an eyebrow, 'It's a stone.' Ichigo snorted and rolled her eyes._

'_I know that, but what does it do?'_

The Red Knight. He had erupted into flames in her dream and then again the last time she had seen him…

Fire…

She looked down at the inert Kish, her hand resting on his. She would let him sleep while she found a way to contact the Red Knight using the stone.

But was it wise to leave him alone again? She wondered, considering that her bed had been lit on fire and the source could only be Kisshu.

Then another, chilling thought came to her.

_What if Kish was the Red Knight?_

No. It couldn't be.

The only piece of evidence was the fire. But it was evidence nonetheless. Ichigo made her decision. She would use the stone on Kish to see if he was, in fact, the Red Knight and if not, she would be able to summon the Red Knight to help them.

Ichigo racked her brains for the last possible place she had left the stone. Then, she left the bathroom for a brief second to locate the ruby on her vanity desk, in the midst of all the make-up, photographs and other clutter she left there.

The Iriomote curiously observed the stone, wondering how it worked or whatever mechanism it ran by. It didn't look as if it had any specific properties. A moment later, she decided it was just a simple stone.

As she was walking back into the bathroom to check on Kish, another thought occurred to her. _What if… it reacted to fire?_

She crossed over the threshold and into her bathroom and all other thoughts disappeared out of her brain. All that was left was the small, tedious thought:

_Oh, lookit here. My bath's on fire._

Then the shock hit, and Ichigo stepped back, eyes almost popping out of her head. _Was it even possible for water to be lit on fire?_ She thought, confusion arising amongst the weaves of surprise that held her like ropy tendrils of thought and emotion.

As she stepped back, Ichigo lost her footing. Tripping over her own feet, she fell flat on the floor, hitting the back of her head on the dark, gray tiles below. Well, she would have, if she hadn't been saved, at the last minute, by something directly behind her.

A wall, maybe? No. It was something too… _human_ to be a wall.

Once she was able to stand on her two feet accordingly, Ichigo turned around.

Her eyes met irises of crimson and immediately, she felt as if a burden had been lifted off her shoulders. In a way, it had.

_The Red Knight._

He stood, in all his glory, wearing the flame red battle-suit he had adorned the first time she met him. Ichigo felt her cheeks flush red, not from embarrassment or attraction, but from the sudden _heat_.

Then she remembered.

She turned, 'Kisshu!'

From behind her, the Red Knight averted his gaze to the fire. 'Kisshu is in the middle of that fire!' Ichigo screamed.

'Ichigo, I need you to get him out of the bath.' The Red Knight told her, crimson eyes sparkling with determination.

The cat-girl looked up at him, face full of worry, 'But… the fire!'

He smiled at her, 'I can hold it back, but we have to do this _now_, before it spreads.'

Ichigo nodded, as the Red Knight lifted his hands, she prepared herself for what she was about to do – throw herself into the fire on his command. Without a thought of what would become of her or the consequences of her actions, she delved into the flames surrounding the bath-tub.

She felt herself fall into the path. She reached for Kisshu, immediately, ignoring exactly where her hands were touching and who. Her mind was blank, her thoughts directed to the desperate task of saving the inert, alien boy.

Se secured her hands around the unconscious alien's waist. Slowly and carefully, yet somehow at a speedy pace, Ichigo lifted him out of the water. Then she looped her hands behind the alien's neck and knees and she hoisted him into the air.

_Thank god he kept his pants on._ Kisshu had fallen asleep before she could manage to.

The flames licked at her heels, but did not harm her. She walked through the wall of fire with no injuries. Once she was clear, the Red Knight released his grip on the embers. The flames in the bath died out in that instant.

The Red Knight breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her re-emerge. 'Is he alright?' He asked, pointing at the inert form in her arms. Ichigo nodded, too stunned to speak.

His concern shifted elsewhere, 'Are _you_ alright?' Ichigo nodded again, her arms struggling to hold Kisshu's dead weight.

The fire had disappeared without a trace, Ichigo realized.

Instead, they began somewhere else.

The Red Knight and Ichigo's eyes widened when both put two and two together in the exact, single moment. _Kish was on the bed when it had lit on fire. Kish was in the path when it had lit on fire._ He seemed to be the cause of the flames…

Ichigo was holding Kisshu. Which meant –

She screamed.

She was on fire.

* * *

_Kisshu opened his eyes slowly. Everything was black. He looked around, desperately searching for a reprieve. A light, sound, person. Anything._

_Anything but darkness._

_He struggled to stand up; even here – wherever he was – he was extremely weak._

_The alien spun around again. 'Hello?' The sound of his own voice sounded foreign to him, 'Where am I?'_

_A light appeared in the darkness. Kish looked away from it, protecting his eyes from the luminosity spurred from its presence._

_Kisshu reopened his eyes. He saw a sighed he never wanted to see again._

_It was Ichigo. She was screaming, her body was on fire. 'KISSHU!' She squealed, tears streaking down her face in pain – 'STOP IT, PLEASE! YOUR KILLING MEEEEE!'_

_His eyes widened. He walked closer to her and she whimpered._

_Kish didn't know what else to do. He pushed Ichigo's trembling figure into his arms._

'_Don't die, Ichigo. You're the only thing I live for.' His whisper sounded like a scream. It echoed through his mind and his elvan ears burnt afterward._

* * *

Kisshu's eyes snapped open. He almost fell to the floor, if he hadn't have been gripping Ichigo. On instinct, he released her.

The flames stopped. Ichigo fell to the ground, panting and crying and sobbing all at once and Kish almost felt his heart shatter in his chest at how helpless she looked.

He put his hand on his shoulder.

With widened eyes, full of fear, she pushed back violently.

'Don't touch me!' Her voice was desperate, afraid, but it reached out and slapped him as if she had hit him with her fist, not her words.

_What have I done?_

'I-Ichigo.' He whispered, looking into her deep, brown eyes. 'I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.' He moved to touch her face, she was about to stop him until he spoke again, 'I won't hurt you.' He said, his words almost inaudible.

She lowered her hand. Kisshu placed his hand on her face and lightly brushed away the crystal tears that had been falling from her face. Then, in a rush of emotion, Ichigo found herself cushioned by his chest, pressed to him by his pale, thin arms.

She cried and sobbed and almost screamed until she could do it no more. When she finally lifted her head, she realised that the Red Knight was gone.

_Was Kish the Red Knight?_ No. He couldn't have been.

And then another thought occurred to her as she sat, eyes squeezed shut, in the warm arms of the one who had almost ended her life.

It was outrageous. It was dangerous. It was stupid. It was…

Possible.

She pushed her head up from Kisshu's chest. Her eyes wide.

'Kisshu,' he looked at her, eyes full of sorrow and remorse. They were their usual, stunning amber. But hadn't she sworn she saw his eyes flicker to crimson in the midst of the fire that almost destroyed their house?

Ichigo wasn't sure what to think anymore. Not after this. If she was wrong…

'_Look where the ocean meets the sky  
On the back of wings take to fly …_

'_Through the seas midst  
And the underworld of dark rapture  
Through the mouth of the volcano  
You will capture …_

'_Me, the Harcesis, the one you seek  
Beware, this journey is not for the meek_

_Only true strength will prevail  
I hope, Mew Ichigo, you do not fail'_

'Kisshu…' She repeated, 'Are you…'

A pause.

'Are you the Harcesis?'

* * *

**End Note:** Oh, deary me. My meeting of the Harcesis child and Mew Ichigo has not gone to plan. The riddle is totally off…Oh, and the cliffhanger bit.

But ah well. I think I'm loosing my touch. I don't seem to be as in tune with these chapters as I used to. Probably because I've been so stressed from updates.

Oh, and I'm writing, like, three more stories at the same time – all Tokyo Mew Mew, probably not all IchigoxKish. But most of them are.

Anyway. Sayonara Solitaire. Hope you enjoy this update.

Love,  
Exangeline.

P.S. This end note was written a couple of weeks ago. This is an updated message to say that the riddle HAS NOT BEEN fulfilled as of yet. So it's all good… I think?


	13. Sickness

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I have my fun, you have yours.

**Note:** Ok. After a lot of Randomness and sorting out, I have come to the conclusion that…

I have no clue what to write. Somehow, I have put together Harcesis Chapter 13. Somehow. Impossibly possibly I have created, what I see, as a passable effort.

Tell me if you think differently.

Lyrics by _Disturbed_.

* * *

Chapter 13 – Sickness.

_I can see inside you  
__The sickness is rising  
__Don't try to deny what you feel  
__And when I dream…_

She looked at him. 'Kisshu…' She repeated, 'Are you…'

A pause.

'Are you the Harcesis?'

That word. Where… where had he heard it before?

_Kish, influenced by the memories, began to speak, 'I was able to decipher a word on the tablet. It says…'_

_A pause, 'Harcesis.'_

_It was Shirogane's voice, speaking of how he found the tablet and recognized one of the words on it from his father's research._

'_Harcesis?' Pai repeated, turning to the drugged figure on the chair. 'Does this name have any meaning?'_

_Kish began to speak again, 'This Harcesis may be the second best defence we have against the enemy, the first, of course, being Tokyo mew Mew.'_

The memory stopped, only to be replaced by a chilling, earlier utterance of the word.

_His enemy placed the length of his lower arm against his neck. Kisshu shuddered at the feeling of the black armor against his skin. He gasped again when his breathing became constricted. His imposer was going to suffocate him._

'_Your not getting away this time, Harcesis.'_

_Kisshu couldn't speak. His thoughts faded into black._

'K-Keishu.'

Ichigo blinked, taken aback by Kisshu's unexpected answer, 'What?'

Kish didn't reply. His thoughts were plagued by memories…

_Instead of raising his weapon to deliver a swift ending to Kisshu's life, the Kull Warrior did something strange._

_He removed his helmet._

_Kish had been told that the armour was an actual part of the warrior. But this seemed to be only a rumour to him now. He looked in the eyes of the creature that would carry out his death sentence._

_The alien's eyes widened._

_No. This couldn't be._

_He looked into a pair of mirrored golden eyes, shocked beyond belief._

He didn't know what he was saying, 'He's not good, Ichigo!' He looked into her eyes, his own amber irises wide and afraid, 'Don't let him come near you, don't let him trick you… He's not good!'

Ichigo was confused, she tried to calm the obviously delirious alien, 'Kish, Kish you're not making any sense. Calm down. I'm not in any danger.'

'It's not safe…' He continued, 'It's not safe anymore.'

Ichigo whispered, 'Nowhere's safe.'

'For them.'

_He was staring back at his own face._

_It was identical to his, the deep yellow eyes, the pale skin and the hair. Only the other him had grown it out. It went almost to waist length; still tied into the two ponytails that Kisshu had himself. They were tied with the same red bands._

'_Wha-Who are you?'_

_The man, who was obviously older than him, an adult, pointed at Kisshu's chest. The younger being in the room gasped, as if he had struck him._

'_I am you.'_

_He felt his blood run cold._

'Ichigo…' He grabbed onto her arm.

The utterly confused, slightly afraid cat-girl just said, 'I'm here, Kish.'

'Not for long, not for long,' he whispered, 'They're going to take you, they'll take your friends and then they'll be gone and then they'll take you and take everyone in the world. They won't leave anybody alive.'

A single, crystal tear ran down his face, 'They never leave anyone alive.'

This time, Ichigo was the one who remembered.

'_What do you mean, "they wouldn't care?"' The kitten asked, disturbed by his words. She had so many questions, but the following seemed to dominate._

_Kish looked at her through semi-shut eyes. He swayed dizzily, although his headache had been removed from his system once again. Opening the portal to teleport was the hardest part of moving from one place to another; the rest didn't take much energy to accomplish._

'_I told you, one life for a million,' he began, seriously not wanting to have this conversation, but he couldn't teleport unless Ichigo released him, otherwise he would end up taking her with him. 'My family was executed just before my arrival here, which is why I took the job.'_

_His eyes reopened, filled with sorrow. 'I thought it would be a suicide mission.'_

_Ichigo gasped. He thought it was going to be a what? She never expected Kisshu to think that way. She always thought the aliens were heartless creatures that only wanted war. Or that Kisshu was a pervert who just wanted her to fulfil his own sick fantasies._

_Oh, was she wrong. She could see that now. Kisshu bought her out of her reverie when he pulled his arm from her grasp. He teleported, but while doing so, spoke to her again._

_This was what she heard:_

'_It still is, your will is too strong to beat, beautiful. We all know that. We're fighting a loosing battle. Not only here, but there as well. Death is the only option.'_

_And he was gone. Ichigo fell to her knees, trying to calm the array of feelings he had awakened in her._

Something else that Kisshu said stood out in her memory and in the memory she had just witnessed…

'_My family was executed just before my arrival here, which is why I took the job.'_

'I-Is that what you meant, Kisshu?' She asked, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of dread come across her, 'When they don't leave anyone alive? Is that what they did to your family?'

'No.' Kish paused, 'They weren't taken by _them_. They were taken because I was a mistake.'

He continued, 'But _They_. They're going to come. They're going to come very soon.' He looked up at her again, eyes desperate and pleading with her, 'And you can't stop them, no-one can stop them…'

A pause, 'No-one can stop _him_.'

'Who?'

'Keishu.'

_A hand was secured around his neck. He could feel his airhole being blocked by the pressure exerted by whoever held him hostage. His world filled with stars._

_Finally, something that isn't blackness… he was relieved yet terrified at the same time. Someone was suffocating him! The pressure grew even worse on his neck and he began to choke._

_His hands moved to his throat, trying to pry off the other hands from around his neck. He could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness._

_The hands wouldn't give way. He drew his last breath._

_Just before Kisshu slipped into unconsciousness, a voice hit his ears. It took a second to realise that the voice was, in fact, his. It was loud and clear as he passed out._

_It spoke only one word. A word that had no particular meaning to him yet still managed to shock him._

_He said, 'Keishu.' His world didn't fade to black, as everything was already black, but he passed out completely._

'He doesn't know compassion. He doesn't know mercy.' He averted his gaze from her. They were still sitting down on the cool tiles of Ichigo's bathroom floor. 'I'm alive…'

Kish stared down at his own hands, widened irises like what he saw was not his own. 'I'm alive… because…'

He looked up, 'They need me.' His face contorted into surprise, as if he was realizing some great conspiracy. Despite her confusion, Ichigo reached out to him, placing both hands on either of his shoulders.

'What? What do they need you for?'

Kish let Ichigo's hands fall off of his shoulders. He stood, his legs almost collapsing beneath him once more. Ichigo was about to force him back down, but he took a step backwards.

He held out his hand to her. She took it, dark eyes worried for her life but also his.

She would go along with it, but only to some extent. _He needs help_, she knew. _And I can't give it to him…_

Kish stood back again. Ichigo moved to follow but he raised a single, pale hand in the sign of "stop." 'Stay back.'

This time, when he looked at her, his eyes were red.

Crimson red.

Ichigo gasped.

_The diseased extraterrestrial screwed up his eyes in annoyance and pain. A wave of tremendous anguish rioted through his body at that moment. The annoyance was derived from the fact that there were no more trips to Earth for a long, long while_

_The thought of not seeing Ichigo again, nor making sure she was safe, chilled him to the bone. It scared him more than the pain, the virus and…_

_Death._

_He gritted his teeth. He was going to break through these binds if it was the last thing he ever did._

_His hands pressed so hard against the binds that he was sure they would start bleeding at any given time. This apparition didn't stop him. In all actuality, it fuelled his passion to break free even further._

_Ichigo, Help me, Koneko… A scream of fury resonated right then. Upon whispering his beloved's name, it flew through his veins._

_He… he had the power._

_Again, Kisshu's sharp teeth smashed together. This time in anger rather than irritation. There is no way I'm giving up now… was what crossed his mind then, NO WAY!_

_A peculiar event occurred right then. It happened so fast that it was hardly noticeable._

_Kisshu's eyes burned red._

_Crimson. Scarlet. Blood… completely red._

All weariness escaped him. _Was this the true power of the virus_? He wondered, as the painful throb in his head managed to disappear without any sign of comeback.

He felt the familiar smell of smoke, bringing back a memory of times past…

_Smoke filled the room in a single, terrifying moment. The smell was what Kish noticed first. Then the sight._

_Fire flickered around him. His facial expression grew confused. What… What's happening? Where is this coming from?_

_As the orange flames surrounded his frail figure, he realised he felt no pain. The fire covered him and yet there was only a slight warmth._

The flames that he remembered began to arise from the smell of their terror. First, it was dull, then it grew large and high in three different shades. Red. Orange. Yellow. It burnt and it scorched and it…

It touched nothing. It harmed nothing.

Unless he told it to.

_Eyes wide, his irises faded to crimson. Hands tightened and paled further as he tried with all his might to conjure up the fire._

_It crossed his mind that the flames mightn't be derived from him, but another. However, the feelings of release associated with the fire were undeniable._

_A wave of pain flew down his spine once more. Then the now familiar feeling of reprieve crossed over his mind and figure._

_BOOM._

_The explosion rocked the room. The wall crumbled. Despite his expectations, Kish was completely shocked at the effect._

_His hands shook in surprise. 'How? Why can I do this?' He whispered to no one in particular, for the sudden uproar of flames proved his theory correct. I can control it…_

When he spoke, he was speaking from a source of power unknown to him… The virus?

Or the Harcesis?

'I am…'

What? What was he? Kisshu Haikari? Or was he a host for something more powerful than he could ever, ever imagine?

'The Harcesis.'

_He bowed his head down to her. His proximity bought heat, like the flames of a fire. 'I only know what you know. I am not the Harcesis. But I am someone you know well.'_

_Ichigo's eyes quivered, her entire body trembled. 'It's your duty, querida, to find the Harcesis child. Aid him, and you will be safe.'_

'_Wha-What's a querida? And who's the Harcesis?' She had so many questions; this man seemed so wise, yet he said he only knew what she knew._

'_There are many people out there trying to harm you and the Harcesis. Yet there are many more who wish to protect you. I am one of them.' His elvan ears twitched quite endearingly when he talked, she noticed, as his face was close enough for her to think that._

Ichigo didn't gasp, didn't cry, didn't scream out of shock or surprise. She didn't feel as if her world was crumbling beneath her or a sudden onslaught of events were to unravel and swallow her whole like she thought they would at the moment she found who the Harcesis was…

She felt…

Nothing.

But then a thought crossed her mind. She remembered…

'_I'm not sure if it really has any association to the symbol, it's just a hunch, but I'm convinced that whoever the symbol is related to could be the second most important weapon we have against the enemy. The first, of course, being Tokyo Mew Mew.' Ryou smirked at the girls, who glared at him for calling them weapons._

_He continued. 'They could very well be even more powerful than you all combined. It is of the utmost importance that we find whomever this mark belongs to. If the enemy finds them before we do, it could spell destruction of our planet.'_

_The mouse moved, once again, towards the forward button. This next image was of one of the words in the strange writing. It was highlighted in red, as was the unknown symbol._

'_So what does it say?' Zakuro asked, again voicing another question all the Mews wanted answering. Keiichiro and Ryou looked at each other for a moment then averted their gazes back to the curious supergirls._

_Ryou began slowly. 'It says…' He stared at the word in the foreign language, somewhat sceptically, as if he didn't believe it said what he thought it did._

'_Harcesis.'_

There was a certain part to the memory that she couldn't place… Something that wasn't right, didn't fit in…

She said Ryou's words outloud, 'I'm not sure if it really has any association to the symbol, it's just a hunch, but I'm convinced that whoever the symbol is related to could be the second most important weapon we have against the enemy. The first, of course, being Tokyo Mew Mew.'

She looked up at Kisshu, who had ceased all action and currently had his beautiful, golden eyes fixated on her. They met with her dark, ebony irises.

_If the enemy finds them before we do, it could spell destruction of our planet…_

…_It's your duty, querida, to find the Harcesis child. Aid him, and you will be safe…_

…_There are many people out there trying to harm you and the Harcesis. Yet there are many more who wish to protect you. I am one of them…_

…_I am… the Harcesis…_

…_Me, the Harcesis, the one you seek… Beware this journey is not for the meek…_

…_Only true strength will prevail, I hope, Mew Ichigo, you do not fail…_

…_Whoever the symbol is related to could be the second most important weapon we have against the enemy…_

She spoke, words meant for no one in particular, 'But what if…'

'What if the Harcesis weapon _is_ our enemy?'

She paused. Then she directed herself to Kish.

'What is your purpose?'

* * *

**End Note:** Sigh. A pointless chapter. But I figured if anything, you guys should get a chapter that lets characters piece the little titbits of the story that you yourselves might have forgotten into the big picture.

I'm sorry for leaving it at a cliff-hanger, too. But that was purely by accident. Chapter 14 shall be up soon.

Read and Review, don't Read and Run. It's rude.

Love,  
Exangeline.


	14. Truce

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it.

**Note:** I think I'm extremely unmotivated in the world of Tokyo Mew Mew right now, unfortunately. My prolonged love for Stargate Atlantis is haunting me, so if I begin to ramble, just skip a few lines, okay?

That aside… Welcome to Harcesis 'Chapter Fourteen' – The one and only. Enjoy.

Lyrics by _Lacuna Coil._

* * *

Chapter Fourteen - Truce

_Standing aside he's the saviour  
Of your only human part you  
Cannot see he came to save us  
You will see_

His face contorted from a frown to disappointment. Ichigo was confused until she realised that the disappointment was in himself. 'I…I don't know.' He looked up and Ichigo knew that there was no way that he was lying.

He continued. 'Until I came here, I had never even heard the name Harcesis.'

Before she could take advantage of the small pause of silence that flitted between them, the moment passed and the conversation slowly continued. 'I'm so confused that I don't even know where to begin. At first, I was me. I was confident, trained, addicted to our purpose like the others. But then I became detached. After meeting you and continuously lusting after what I couldn't have, my purpose began to change. Now? I don't know.'

Ichigo had heard all of this before. Abridged, yes, but the knowledge was still there. She urged, 'How did you learn the name?'

A frown bloomed on Kisshu's pale, yet slowly recovering face. 'I still… I still don't know if what happened then was real. But I'm under the assumption that it is, considering the circumstances.' A pause, 'Near where I was born. Our planet, Madrona, there has always been the threat of an enemy that matches the advancements our ancestors had once reached. After years after years of being forced underground, we have literally been sent back centuries in the world of technology. Our recent abilities are barely scratching the surface of what our ascendants were capable of.'

Ichigo looked sceptical, but nodded. Despite their obvious cultural and opinionated differences, it looked like she would just have to take his word for this one. Kish gave her a small, half-smile. 'But that's a completely other story – back to the one at hand. This enemy – this _evil_ – was and still technically is run by Amorphous.'

'Amorphous?' She had never heard the name before.

Kish shrugged. 'Another long story. Ruler over death, worshipped as a god, has his own personal hell. Shortly, very bad man. Avoid.' He directed, as if Ichigo was a class of individuals with the overall IQ of a peanut.

She didn't have time to even take offence to his words. In fact, she barely had time to blurt out the one question that was gnawing at her. This was, of course, the underlying; 'What does this have to do with your story?'

'Well. Amorphous, like any evil bad guy, has henchmen.' Ichigo cocked an eyebrow and eased back against the cold, tile wall that they were seated near.

'Figures,' she muttered. Kish laughed out loud at her attitude.

'Yeah. They're not very nice either. Big on the black armour and such. And that's where my story comes into it. As I begun, I told you that I wasn't sure whether or not part of it was real, which is the part coming up. Primarily because it happened in a simulation machine.'

Her face lost all emotion, bar raw and solid confusion. 'Simulation Machine?' If the mood wasn't so serious, Ichigo would have slapped him silly for the techno-babble he was sprouting at that very moment in time.

Kish sighed. 'Like virtual reality. You do know what that is, don't you?' He tried to fit it into the most basic human customs.

Ichigo scoffed. 'What do you think I am? Five? Of course I know what a virtual reality is!'

'Really?'

Her lip wobbled as her face assumed the cliché pouting expression. 'A bit?'

Kish laughed, at her face more than her words. _Sometimes that kitten is just so damn cute, _he found himself thinking. Afterwards, he realised the change of subject and shifted back to the matter at hand, all humour fading into the past.

'It's a machine that influences your brain, making you see things. Like an artificial world. Only in this case, it's as different situations. Like, say your ship breaks down, or you're kidnapped in a fight or something.'

Ichigo's eyes widened, comprehension dawning. She tossed back tresses of her auburn hair and turned back to what Kish was saying. 'So… let me guess, you guys use this machine to train?'

Kish grinned, 'Exactly.' For a moment, Ichigo looked proud of herself, then realised exactly what she was up against. Kisshu's intelligence against hers? She certainly was no physicist. _That_ was obvious, at least.

'Go on,' She coerced, slowly starting to piece together the significance of the information. However, Kish seemed intent on taking his time, where as she was beginning to become impatient, despite her calm demeanour.

He nodded, continuing. 'In one of these simulations, I was faced against a "Kull Warrior", which is the semi-official term for Amorphous' henchmen –'

'Wait,' Despite her impatience, Ichigo had to stop the explanation for a fleeting question that arose to her mind. 'What do you mean by semi-permanent?'

Kish cocked an eyebrow, sighing. However, plastered onto his lips was his familiar smirk. 'It means that, basically, anyone who has heard of them has deemed them as such.'

Ichigo could understand that.

The extraterrestrial sitting against the cool tiles of her bathroom wall flicked a strand of his grass-green hair out of his eyes and averted his from her face back to the small, insignificant dot his eyes seemed to be obsessed with, somewhere beyond her right shoulder. His amber eyes narrowed at it. 'Upon lifting off his helmet – which I'm not sure is even possible for the real Kull Warriors, as it is rumoured their armour is part of them – I was faced with a mirror image of my own features, albeit a few years older.'

_Kull warrior? Own features?_ She frowned.

He continued, this time without any encouragement on her part. Ichigo listened intently, genuinely interested in exactly what he was going to say next, give or take a couple of questions she was ready to ask the moment he finished. 'We then fought and he managed to get me pinned, which is when he called me "Harcesis".'

'Wait, so this guy, this "Kill Warrior"–'

'_Kull_.' Kish nodded, correcting her.

Ichigo frowned, 'Whatever,' she said, before continuing. 'This "_Kull_ Warrior"'– her hands made the appropriate quotation marks –'Who you were attacked by…'

'…He's you?' She asked, scepticism arising into her curious, accented voice.

It was already becoming too hard to believe…

…That is, until she faced the fact that she was part Iriomote Wildcat, could transform into a costume-wearing superhero (something, of which, should really only be seen at a Sailor Moon cosplay convention) and was currently at war with a race on another planet. Deemed as "aliens" by the rest of the world, but known to her directly by name.

And, also, the equally as disturbing and eye-opening fact that she was currently sitting with the supposed leader of the alien expedition of which was sent here to annihilate all human life on a planet that used to be there's.

_Yeah. This shouldn't come as a surprise, really._ She reconsidered, her mind scanning over the facts in the brief instant she had before Kisshu replied to her previous question.

'As far as I can tell…' The answer was both cryptic and contemplative.

This, apparently, was enough to drive her already confused mind totally mental with new and improved questions, coming from where she did not know.

She leaned against the wall, feeling the tiles pressed upon her pyjama-clad back and, despite her state of dress, she shivered. A mutter rose to her throat when she felt self-pity cloud her mind. 'Why me?'

She put her face in her hands, a move more automatic than emotional, and uttered, '…This stuff is too hard.'

When she lifted her head, she met Kish's expression, of which could only be described as amused. He had an eyebrow cocked, the thin, slender trail rising above the other and contributing to the overall affectivity of the look.

'You think you got it hard?'

Her mind skimmed over what had supposedly happened to her guest that evening and she found herself letting out a small giggle at the joke. Kish smirked at her in return.

Then, he asked, in a voice that she could only really describe as being husky. 'Isn't it accustom for humans to feel… pity for one another?' He asked.

Ichigo frowned. 'What do you mean?' She genuinely didn't know.

Well, of course she knew what pity meant – despite her epitome, she wasn't completely stupid (note of randomness: of which a commentary situation would deem her reply as 'what do you mean by _completely_?' accompanied by confused glares in the way of the author) – but not what context Kisshu held the question and, ultimately, her answer, in.

He shifted his position, so instead of being cross-legged against the wall, he was now on his knees. He edged closer to her location beside him and after this flurry of movement, she began to feel the first tendrils of anxiety in the pit of her stomach.

She leaned back instinctively. A flash of hurt crossed his face upon realising the rejection of sorts, but soon he had his usual, trademark smirk fall across his features once more.

Despite that, she was uncomfortable. Thoughts were already forming in her head…

_I don't like his proximity,_ was one of the key string of words that flashed by for seconds duration.

When he leaned in close enough for her to feel his breath as he slowly inhaled and exhaled, Ichigo was about to push him away, when he spoke.

His voice was barely a whisper. He cocked his head towards hers, his right cheek brushing across her left as he spoke, lips to her ear. 'Do you pity me?'

Ichigo shuddered at the husky tone in his voice. Just hearing that voice speak in such a subdued, enigmatic manner made the fine hair on the back of her neck stand up in protest. She shivered.

Nervously, she replied, when she realised that this was what he was waiting for – her response. 'I-I guess so.' He moved his face away from her, their cheeks brushing together once again, and he looked directly into her eyes, face barely inches from her own, their noses almost coming into contact with one another.

When he made no move of pulling back any further, Ichigo found a frown arising to her face. 'What are you playing at, Kish?'

He adorned that almost irresistible and, to some extent, evil, smirk of his. 'Nothing.'

And then he moved back completely, this time sitting opposite to her, as her position had shifted to face him when he first leaned over.

Ichigo felt her frown deepen as she said, thinking more to herself than to him, really. 'You certainly seem to be feeling better.'

Kish looked up at her, his face suddenly moulding into a pout that, by all definition, as absolutely and totally cute of him – although she would never, ever truly admit it, or let herself get away with telling him so – and spoke, in a voice of similar impression to that of his face, 'Did you like me better when I was sick?'

She shook her head, 'But you were definitely more compliant.'

Kish then shrugged with all signature and remanence of the pout fading. 'That's just how people are when they're suffering from a fatal illness, is it not?'

_Fatal._

Ichigo's eyes widened as the full meaning of his words registered in her mind.

'Fatal?' She repeated, voice stripped of any real emotion as she came to face with something she never really expected to feel in his presence and directed at her feelings for him themselves – denial.

The shock hit her furthur when, from his lips, there was no reply.

Kish simply stared down in silence.

Her eyes then narrowed as another thought crossed her mind. One that would exhaust all the questions she had to ask on this matter… 'Were you making that up? Just to see how I would react?'

He shook his head, shutting his eyes for an evanescent second.

A section of her mind wished he hadn't.

A section of her mind wished it was a joke, a test, a mockery of her.

Sure, she would be pissed off, but then she wouldn't feel this underlying feeling of utter _dread_ that crossed over her mind when she was faced with the possibility of losing him. Something, of which, she had only ever felt for one other person. _Masaya._

_What-What does this mean?_ She found herself thinking – almost speaking – to herself, silently. This gave her pause, as she knew very well what she had felt for Masaya.

A large, audible breath was drawn by the dark-haired alien sitting across from her. Then, he spoke, in a low voice – a serious voice. Ichigo felt the dread swirling inside her stomach even more so than before. Joking was over. The same section of her mind wished it wasn't.

_I wish a lot of things, _she thought, _and not all of them come true._

'No, I honestly don't know whether or not it is fatal but, considering the circumstances, I wouldn't put it past it.'

Whatever reply she might have – could have – would have – uttered died in her throat and she fell into silence.

Kish then turned to her, regaining himself somewhat, and smiled at her a little. A considerable amount of her burden seemed to lift, the dread clearing a little when she saw that small, awkward smile.

'But what the hey,' She looked up at him, in accordance with the change of tone, yet his eyes were elsewhere. His voice had adapted a light-hearted tone, yet there was the underlying prospect of something between the lines. An unidentified emotion filtered through his words.

She found out, a moment later when he continued to speak, that it was _hurt_.

'…Like you'd care if I disappeared.' He averted his gaze from the floor to her face, shut his eyes for a breif moment, and shot her the same smile. 'One less problem you'd have to deal with, that's for sure.' He stopped, abruptly, painfully – as if it hurt to continue.

And, she realised, it probably did.

She grimaced, her reflexes taking over. 'That's not true!' She said, voice raised, defiant.

Kish raised his eyebrows. She felt heat rise to her cheeks.

A dark, red blush, she was sure, had just crossed over her face. 'W-Well, what I mean is…' She stuttered, stumbling to find her words.

A silence stretched out between them in that moment in time. Before Kish could form a response, Ichigo found her train of thought and speech once more and continued, voice and face vague. She stood, right then, but refused to look at him when she spoke.

When she did, it came out in a low, underlying tone, much like the one Kish himself had adapted when mentioning his illness – which, of course, was what had gotten them to this stage in the first place. She cursed.

She couldn't back down now, she knew, so she forced herself to respond. She forced herself to face the confusion, to swallow her feelings and her fear, and to speak to him. 'I… I might care for you.'

Silence.

'I mean, I do, I think… I – Oh, god, I don't know…' She put her head in her hands. Slowly and carefully, she slid down the length of the wall, back into her original seating position. She didn't know why she stood in the first place, really.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew who it was. She didn't look up.

'It's… ok?' Kish said, hesitantly. She heard a distinct sound – the sound of someone swallowing… _feverishly… nervously… worriedly_… 'Uh, I don't really know how do this very well.' His sudden, shakily confession caused her to look up.

'Do what?' She asked, genuinely confused by his words. They could be taken in so many way, really…

'Comforting people.' He blushed slightly. She smiled at it.

Ichigo bit back a laugh when it registered in her mind exactly what he had just said. She averted her gaze suddenly, unable to look at him, of course, without the possibility that she would suddenly burst into a hysterical fit of giggles.

'What?' He asked, suddenly defensive.

Ichigo grinned. 'That's so… strange, coming from you.'

'Coming from me?'

'Yeah. You're usually so… confident.' She said, and suddenly realised her mistake when he grinned wickedly.

_Oh no._ She thought…

_I just fed the beast._

(The beast being his ego, of course.)

'Confident?' He repeated, grin still smothering his expression yet repeating the words hollowly. Ichigo frowned at his tone.

'Now you're DEFINITELY feeling better.' She mumbled. He, however, heard her anyway, and the grin he adorned only grew wider.

His face then softened. 'Yes, to some extent. While my body is, technically, still very weak, the stronghold of the virus' power on my mind has lessened somewhat, of which I am glad for.'

Ichigo nodded, albeit not particularly understanding the full meaning of his words.

When she spoke next, her voice was quiet.

'So… what now?'

He could interpret her words whichever way he wanted. In all actuality, the meaning was a bit of both.

_Negotiation and emotion._

Kisshu genuinely considered what she had just asked. 'Business first,' he alleged, and then stood. Ichigo followed suit, wondering where the sudden officialty had arisen from.

She shrugged off all ponderings to await his next statement. A statement, of which, could possibly shape their future in more ways than one.

'Considering our current circumstances, with the added mystery and sudden enemy that this complication burdens us with, I do believe that simply battling it out like we always do is most definitely not the way to continue.' He said, speaking in the utmost seriousness. Ichigo was taken aback by the change of posture and tone in his voice.

Then it hit her how much about Kish she didn't know…

…But what was even more shocking was how much she _wanted_ to know about him.

She barely had time to think on this new development, when Kish suddenly proposed his statement and decision, loud and clear and directly, summarising his sudden uprise in speech.

'I, Kisshu Haikari, propose a truce.'

Ichigo simply blinked in response.

* * *

**End Note:** I had two choices. Leave this where it was, or continue. I decided to try both options, and this ended up prevailing. My reason being, of course, that it would take me less time to write less, so I decided to utilise that privilege.

Chapter fifteen will, and I promise on this (since it's practically planned out and finished already), be released soon. Very soon.

Until Then - Sayonara,  
Exangeline


	15. Unguarded

**Disclaimer:** After Fifteen chapters, need you ask?

**Authors Note:** It's a little shorter than most, but a chapter is a chapter. Originally this was going to be stuck on the end of _Chapter Fourteen_, but I decided against it, mainly because _Chapter Fourteen_ was completely involved with Ichigo's Point Of View, and the beginning of this chapter focuses more on Kisshu.

Thanks for the great reviews, and I hope the cliff-hanger of both last chapter and (admittedly) this chapter wasn't and won't be too much for you to bear. _Chapter Sixteen_ should be up soon, but I cant make any promises.

Lyrics by _Three Days Grace_.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen – Unguarded.

_Anger and agony  
__Are better than misery  
__Trust me, I've got a plan  
__When the lights go off, you'll understand_

_What are you doing, Kisshu?_ His mind urged. Kish shrugged off the thought. He was the leader of the expedition, it was his choice.

Ichigo blinked up at him. For a brief moment, he entertained the thought of kissing her then and there. However, as he had stated only a moment ago – business came first.

Playing games was for later.

He inwardly smirked at the wicked thought.

'As I stated, with this added complication which, of course, is almost entirely composed of an internal affair between us and another enemy – of which you have little to do with at the moment – I do believe this is the best thing, as of now.'

When Ichigo remained silent once more, he continued, 'Of course, this will not be an official truce between my people and yours, nor our expedition and Tokyo Mew Mew, but more of an unofficial agreement of sorts. Between two leaders.'

_Between two leaders, _he could almost hear the words echoing through her mind, as he knew her that well.

He only hoped she would take it the right way.

The look on her face, past the initial surprise and dismay, was one of contemplation. She was seriously entertaining the thought of the idea, like he had hoped she would, without any ulterior motive.

Just like him.

When the moments glance of scepticism crossed over her face, Kish knew he had to persuade it from taking over her opinion entirely. 'Listen. I'm saying this as a guest, not an enemy or a hostile. You let me into the house, didn't you? That must mean, on some degree, you do trust me.' He shuddered at the thought of using her own words against her, as he knew that she would probably regret saying them, but he had no other means of persuasion. 'You said so yourself. On some level, somewhere in your mind, you do care about me – personally. All I'm asking of you is to trust me.'

'I know it's a lot. Probably more than you can find yourself to give, but for a moment just hear me out.' He finished, pleading to whoever was holy that she was convinced by his lengthy dialogue.

He watched the emotions that flashed over her face.

Scepticism, surprise, uncertainty, discomfort, deep thought and finally…

Her face was set hard, features toned in a level of seriousness. As he watched her expression, he pleaded harder, as he knew that once that fleeting glance crossed her mind and her features were moulded in such a way, there was no turning back.

It was a look of determination, sudden confidence in her abilities and herself.

A look, he might add, that he found completely irresistible when it arose.

She held out a hand. 'And I, Ichigo Momomiya, agree to your terms for a truce.'

They shook hands, silently, professionally…

…And then she smiled.

Dreading the awkward silence he knew would stretch out between them in the next moment (something, of which, he hated even more so than ruining moments, something he was about to execute in the next second or two, with his actions), Kish set onto his face his trademark smirk. Ichigo faltered.

His grin only grew from there.

He stepped in towards her, a sudden plan blooming in the confines of his mind.

'How about we seal this truce, eh?' He said, the wicked idea becoming an almost-reality when he executed the mannerism without even noticing he did so until it was already, and long after, over and done with.

Ichigo felt her confusion rise as he took another step in towards her and proceeded to land his hands on her shoulders, the impish smirk still playing on his pale, crystalline face.

'N-Nya?' Ichigo asked, perplexed, as was her nature.

Kish took the plunge. With a sweep of his hand and all the while palming her face, he moved in for a kiss. He could imagine it, in that moment, soaking in the smell of her perfume and feeling her lips collide with his in the most final manner. Then, of course, she would push away…

Yet it never got that far. Ichigo had no time to refuse because Kish had no real time to execute this plan. Unspoken and unheard, from the opposite side of the room, someone cleared their throat.

They turned, in complete and utter shock, to meet the cold, amethyst eyes of Pai, standing side-by-side with Eustachia.

His eyes narrowed when he approached the scene. 'Found you.' He said, monotone voice deepening in tightly-leashed fury.

Kish, he was sure, thought in unison with Ichigo, in that moment, _Oh dear._

Before he had time to explain himself, however, Pai raised a hand and his deep, booming tone smothered the room as it echoed throughout the confines of the cold, small bathroom.

'_Eta kuram na smekh…_'

Kisshu lost control over his motor functions, right then, and soon after; his consciousness.

* * *

'_Eta kuram na smekh…_'

She saw the previously lively body of Kish fall to the ground, rendered inert by the sudden phrase. In her minds eye, she remembered, the sudden quote bringing back an onslaught of memories that she had barely scratched the surface about.

It was a dream…

Her dream…

'_Ichigo, ICHIGO!' A voice called to her a moment later. It was Kisshu. The alien ran up to her, and stood in the spot where the flame-man just was._

_Ichigo stared down at the object he had given her. It was a small, deep crimson stone, as big as the palm of her hand. It shone in the light of the fire. She spun it around in her hands. She noticed that one side was curved and polished, whereas the other was flat and jagged._

_She looked up again. Her eyes met Kisshu's._

_His voice was unusually deep to her ears. _

'_Eta kuram na smekh__'_

_Her world faded into blackness once again._

Ichigo simply stared at the approaching forms of Pai and Eustachia in shock as to what just happened. The phrase, its affect over him was… unexpected? Yes, but not the word she was looking for. Amazing? No, it was definitely not in a positive context.

She found the word she was looking for.

Terrifying? Yes. It was terrifying.

Before she could respond and, gladly, before she was _expected_ to respond, Eustachia, the nurse of which she had only ever met once – and who still looked as beautiful as ever – bowed deeply and lowly in her direction. A devastatingly sad smile crossed over the alien woman's face as she eyed the inert body of her dear friend and patient.

'Forgive our intrusion,' She began, her voice proper and polite, 'But you were – and still are, mind you – harbouring one of my patients.'

After hearing the words herself, Ichigo felt herself relapse into a stunned silence. An action, of which, seemed to be common for her in that hour.

She eyed the alien male, of which she knew better than Eustachia, really, who simply grimaced at her, meeting her eyes only to glare solidly in her direction, before turning on his boot-clad heel and walking back into her bedroom, teleporting promptly after…

…Leaving Ichigo with Eustachia.

The alien in question moved towards her, quickly and suddenly. Ichigo jumped, which caused Eustachia cause for alarm. They stood in stillness.

That is, until she decided to continue her reasons and actions for approaching her in the first place – the action being, of course, to scoop up Kisshu from his current – and quite uncomfortable, mind you – position on her tiled, bathroom floor.

'Wait!' Ichigo half-bellowed, before she even realised she did. She had her arm outstretched, in the signal that screamed, in itself, "stop."

Eustachia stopped in her tracks, as she had done barely thirty seconds before.

'W-What are you going to do to him?' Concern for Kisshu's safety clouded over her intentions for asking her to stop. Ichigo bit back the many strings of curse words that came to her mind when she realised she had, once more, acted in a way that could only have cause for concern, especially when it came down to her personal feelings for the alien boy.

She shook her head.

_Masaya,_ her mind urged, _Masaya._

Yet the arguing sounded weak, even to her own ears.

Eustachia's reply shattered the train of thought that she was pursuing. Ichigo was glad for the sudden derailment of her mental locomotive of contemplation.

When she met the alien's sapphire eyes, she found them searching hers, observantly. Ichigo blushed under such a gesture so searching. When Eustachia looked at her like that, she felt like an open book, like the nurse could read every thought and feeling she had ever had simply by staring at her for long enough.

She shuddered.

'I will not hurt him,' she began, curtly, 'Unless it is absolutely nessesary for the survival of our planet. As this is unlikely, he is relatively safe…'

Ichigo had to stop herself from breathing a sudden sigh of relief. Another action of which gave her pause. Before she had a chance to reply, Eustachia managed to cradle Kish in her arms.

Once she had certified her hold on him, she finalised her statement.

Her final words chilled Ichigo to the bone.

'…For now.'

And then she disappeared.

* * *

Eustachia felt the familiar feeling of teleportation swarm across her and abruptly fade as she found herself materialised back on board the _Prometheus,_ the captain of which was momentarily incapacitated in her arms.

Her mind flashed back to Pai's willingness to carry Kisshu's weight, yet her simple, sad smile and refusal and explanation that Kish was her patient, and she would take care of him accordingly. As they paced the corridors, she frowned down on herself for not deciding to take the extra help.

Somehow she managed to keep Kish's figure steady in her arms. In front of her, Pai called, 'Tart?' She stared at his retreating back, then moved to follow, moving at a slower pace than the elder alien due to the extra weight she had to carry along with her.

'Taruto?' She tried, echoing Pai's utterance to some extent.

'Honestly,' Eustachia began, 'Did you have to put him to sleep?'

'He would not have gone accordingly,' Was the reply emanated from the preoccupied accomplice pacing in front of her. She averted her gaze from his back, a million thoughts flashing across her mind, the single most important one of which she spoke in the next moment.

She flashed back to his face, of which he had revealed to be deadpan, as per usual, when he turned her way, stopping abruptly to speak to her properly.

'But you didn't know that for sure, did you?' She spoke, finding her voice.

He spun back around, contemplating her words yet giving no reply as of yet. She watched his dark, plum-coloured hair light up with the sudden illumination of the wall-lighting that had been added to the ship to give it a unique, modernised feeling.

With a frown, he continued walking down the corridor. Eustachia followed, as per usual.

That is, until he stopped right in front of her. If it wasn't for her sudden lack of pace due to Kisshu's reliability on her frame to support his dead weight, she would have slammed directly into him. She was about to utter a silent complaint or mental swear-word, yet his sudden pause was more unnerving than frustrating.

Still, she glared at his retreating back.

She continued, still speaking about the topic of Kisshu and the means of which he had ended up unconscious – the words Pai had executed in order to make Kisshu compliant. Which were, of course, against the will of his superior, something that counted as being a court-marshalled offence within the government of Madrona, their home planet. 'I don't think it was the right move, considering the circumstances –'

However, the words trailed off when her eyes met the object of his fixation and her mind suddenly flashed to his exact thoughts, fears and the underlying feeling of dread that rose to her throat, almost suffocating her with its colossal power.

'Oh no.'

Taruto was lying on the floor, directly in the middle of the corridor, unconscious.

Their thoughts mirrored each others.

_This is not good… in the least._

* * *

**End Note:** I'm so, so, SO sorry for the cliff-hanger, again. This one, however, was totally planned. But I'm finally getting into the hang of writing this story again, and am submerging myself with this story (while trying, and failing, to balance schoolwork in the midst of it all) until I can at least get up to _Chapter Seventeen_ or so.

It's hard to tell how long this is going to be. I was originally going to try for Twenty chapters, but considering I've already gotten up to Fifteen and still have at least half the plot to get through, it will probably be a LOT longer than I thought it was.

And then, there ARE the two sequels. If I decide to write them, or not.

I really should have planned it all before I started. Hah.

Oh well.

Take care, enjoy, and review (but only if you want to! ... is that too contradicting?) …

Love,  
Exangeline


End file.
